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 – May 1, 2016

Emma said, “That is one advantage to just walking one dog, photos. It is so easy walking one dog and using the camera is much easier as well. Mom says one dog is almost boring, but then again the one on one time makes for a special kind of walk.”

Mom is right, although I like to call it peaceful vs boring. 🙂 But getting one dog to pose, is WAY easier than trying to get two!

These comments all suggested using food.

Meagan and Merlin said, “I hold treats up to my eye to get Merlin to look at me.”

I couldn’t coordinate the camera and the treat. 🙂

Monika and Sam said, “Well done, D-dog! I have/hold a small training treat in the middle of my face to catch Sam’s attention and say “watch me” other wise the dimmest dog in North America would be all over the place…”ooh, look, a stroller”… “aaaah, there’s butterfly” … “wait, shiny object!” 🙂”

LOL that is Sampson! Anytime there is movement, he looks away. I have used “Look” based upon a trainer’s suggestion, UNTIL I realized what I was doing making an “L” with my thumb and pointer finger and holding it up to my face. 😀

Mary Ann said, “I try to use a treat to get Lila’s attention, but that makes her give me too much attention and doesn’t make for a very good photo.”

THAT is Delilah and one of the key reasons I DON’T use treats. She gets too excited and cannot focus.

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “I do use treats or a toy to draw their attention towards me and get their ears up so they don’t look like I am torturing them…I don’t know about you but when I am actually making them pose I probably shoot about 100 photos just to get that one good one.”

I’m not as patient as you. There are times when I do take a number of photos, but for the most part, it’s just one or two.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Usually, when I take Shadow for walks at the park, I take “Shadow and Mom time” selfies.”

I love those selfies of yours Sue, but we have to get you to smile more. 🙂

Beth said, “I wish I had tips for you, but Barley just loves to be in front of the camera and I usually have very little involvement in getting her to pose. I do joke that she turns on America’s Next Top Model reruns while I’m at work–so maybe just leave the remote in Delilah’s reach when you leave the house 😉”

I’m afraid to leave her in charge. 🙂 Knowing Delilah, she’d probably find some food porn network. 😉

Sand Spring Chesapeakes said, “I love a good poser.”

Hahaha

Jan K said, “Luke is way more cooperative than the girls are, but I think it’s just his personality. They’re either born to it or not, maybe? 🙂”

You might be right on that one. Maybe it’s just in their DNA.

A New Normal

Genevieve said, “Sounds like a delicate balance, but it also sounds like you’re doing OK with it and so is he. Saying no is tough, but when you know it’ll help in the long run, it gets a little easier. It’s just like saying, “Come and put your cone on…” Ugh. Thankfully, Cupcake thinks the cone and baby sock are an outfit, so she’s fine with it.”

Thank you, I think we ARE doing OK. I think I feel worse for Delilah, because she doesn’t understand that he’s hurt.

Emma asked, “Have you tried ToeGrips to keep him from slipping? They work really well! Katie has been wearing them since last August.”

I have a pair, but I haven’t tried them. Sampson’s physical therapist wasn’t keen on using them. But I may consider them, if we decide say to go to my sister’s where there are no rugs.

Beth asked, “The Aladdin comment made me smile–I’m glad you’re still able to keep your sense of humor despite all of these challenges. Have you tried any noseworks or focus games with him? I know there are plenty of variations of both where he wouldn’t have to get up at all, but it might wear him out mentally at least 🙂”

I’m glad it made you smile, for me, I need to find the humor, it’s what keeps me going. No, I haven’t tried nose work or focus games with him, he is not a dog that really loves the nose work. But you have reminded me of something I wanted to work with him on, so thank you. Hopefully, I will get motivated to do that and be able to share it in the future.

Sue said, “Love the humor. Sometimes you just gotta laugh, right? I think the worst part of Jeffie’s ACL injury was keeping he and Rudy apart. No more rowdy games.”

Thank you Sue, yes, you absolutely have to laugh. Laughter cures so many things. I feel you with the keeping them apart, their world has already changed and I feel so mean imposing more restrictions.

Two French Bulldogs said, “Yep. Our new normal started after my knee surgery and two back surgeries. It’s an adjustment.”

It sure is. I hope you are recovering well.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Poor Sampson. I know what a tough time I have had keeping Storm from overdoing and she is not as limited as Sampson.”

It’s tough, because they are stoic and without our intervention would be doing it anyway.

Julie asked, “So many things to think about. And like the vet said as far as Sampson is concerned he is the same. The walks are really good though to sniff and get out. Can he go swimming??”

Sampson is not a swimmer. He will do it, but it’s usually brief, just enough for him to cool off. 

Dachshund Nola said, “Maybe food puzzles or modified nose work, to help keep him engaged?”

He’s not big on those kinds of things. 

Lauranne said, “Sending a hug xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx…(and an awful lot of kisses as I wasn’t allowed to post the comment unless I upped the characters. Sorry I should have had something more useful to say but my mind is a blur today)”.

LOL sorry you had issues. I hope it was just a plug in needing an update. 🙁

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “I thought at first poor Sampson but then I thought he doesn’t know it’s poor Sampson, he thinks he is still that young pup. So I am going to look at him like that too.

Thank you for the reminder. I am trying to look at him the same way too. And I am trying my best to make sure things stay as normal as possible for him, because in his mind, nothing HAS changed. 🙂

Put Me In Coach

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “That’s too bad they are parking like that, won’t take long to mess up the grass 🙁”

It’s already messed up because we’ve been having rain almost every day and the ground is very soft. I was just up there yesterday and there are ruts 8 inches deep. 🙁

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, ” But using the field as a parking lot? Nooooooo! There oughta be a law!! And litter on the trails? Some people are lazy slobs. I hate that your beautiful field and woods are being abused!”

Ugh, I hate it too. It’s bad enough the kids go up there and drink and break glass all over the place, now I have to watch for food. Last week I had to keep Delilah from scarfing down apple CORES! I’m thinking of calling the Rec department and nicely requesting they not park in the park. After all, they are the ones who posted “NO Wheeled Vehicles.”

Beth said, “I don’t know that I’ve ever been to a field/ballpark where people didn’t park on the grass, so I probably wouldn’t have even been phased by that sight!”

I hear you, but this isn’t your typical field/ballpark. Here is a picture of the park entrance. As you can see, the field is quite some distance in.

Jan said, “Delilah is quite the little athlete in the pictures. Maybe you can time the walks so she gets to try out for the team.”

LOL we have been up there during a game, AND that was challenging! 

Well that’s it for me folks, have a FANTASTIC 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.

This one goes WAY back to LAST Thursday, but it was so priceless, I just had to share it.

The Fox and the Hound

Lauranne said, “I love how even with the creative commons thing across the photo my first thought on seeing it was “Wow Jodi has really upped her camera skills, what an amazing photo!””

Honey, I love how you have THAT much faith in me!

You Make Me Smile – April 24, 2016

Margie Guess said, “Ginger the collie makes me smile and laugh with empathy every time she tries to talk English! Her voice goes up and down in all the right places, but the utterances lack consonants. I can usually figure out what she is staying if it is in the evening and the deer are out.”

Question for you Margie, does Ginger the collie ever make a noise that SOUNDS like an English word? I would LOVE to hear that!

Jan K said, “Luke gets excited about dogs on TV! LOL”

Mine don’t do THAT, but I swear I caught Delilah watching a Yellowstone documentary about wolves once. 🙂

Hailey and Zaphod said, “Ours will bark even if they don’t know where the dog is. It happens a lot with the TV.”

Typically Sampson & Delilah don’t bark at the barking dogs on TV, BUT they do lose their minds when the doorbell rings on the TV. 🙂

Jan asked, “I think it’s funny when dogs in cars passing by bark at us and three of mine have to respond. Are they passing along neighborhood gossip?”

That’s a very good question, is it a California thing? I know how progressive you Californians are. 😉

Mary Ann said, “Lila doesn’t seem to be too bothered by other dogs barking. It’s the rabbits and deer that roam through our yard that get her attention!”

I think that’s reasonable. 🙂 Anything that MOVES in our yard is fair game and they will run the fence line if there’s an animal on the other side. 

2 Brown Dawgs said, “Usually they have to see them to take notice.”

Do your dogs just have to see them? I swear mine HEAR them and get up to look to see what they heard. 

UltraLite Bi-Fold Pet Ramp

Jana Rade said, “We had ramps, for, Jasmine and now we got a new one for Cookie; so it happens it’s a Solvit one too but we picked the telescopic. Cookie does well,with it, it’s quite sturdy and doesn’t bend or wobble.”

That’s the one I’ve been using for Sampson and he does just fine with it, I think because it’s longer. I was just looking for something a bit easier for me.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Shadow would probably benefit greatly from the use of a ramp. But I doubt she would feel safe using one to get out of the car, because of the pitch (as you mentioned).”

Do you have a car or an SUV? If a ramp is out of the question, do you think stairs would work?

Emma said, “Katie isn’t up for traveling anymore, so she only goes in the car on a rare occasion.”

Poor Katie, I know Mom is doing everything she can to keep Katie comfortable.

Beth said, “I hate when the pets disagree with us on the perfect products! That happened to us with a fountain–I found one that was exactly what I was looking for in the price range I could afford and Barley turned her nose up at it after taking a couple sips and then Soth decided to use it as a urinal.”

UGH, don’t you hate that? I got a fountain at my first BlogPaws and neither one of my dogs will use it!

Jen said, “It took us over a year to get Leroy to use our ramp. The incline was a huge issue for him.”

Sampson had no issues trying the ramp, I think that came from the Agility classes he took. In this case, I feel like the pitch was too steep.

Sue said, “Great video – love how near the end Sampson seems to be saying “let’s go!””

I loved how he looked towards the woods. You know the woods are his favorite place to walk. 🙂

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “It’s hard to tell he had a problem, your video was great and Sampson seemed so spot on.”

Thank you, I realized as I was putting it together that he did okay with it. Right after he walked in the park is when he fell going up it. I think it may have been that his legs were tired.

Jan K said, “That ramp does look much easier to deal with than the telescoping ramp (which I’ve been bad about using, and haven’t seen since we moved!), but I can see where the incline looks much steeper (though Sampson made it look easy).  We were taking a quick ride the other day and decided at the last minute to take Luke. The back seat hadn’t been put down, and he did not seem happy about having to lie on the back seat (he might have been better if we’d at least put the sling seat cover in there). We weren’t going far but I definitely learned that he’s more comfortable when he feels more secure.”

It is definitely more convenient than the telescoping ramp. Isn’t it funny how they get used to something and can be so resistant to change?

Dachshund Nola said, “Mine are all under 15lbs, so they either jump in or I just set them in, but I’m going to show my mom this. My parents have a 7 month old Mastiff, and at 95lbs, she’s getting too big to lift into the car!”

What I DIDN’T put in that post (and fully intended to) was this…I wish I’d used ramps or stairs with my dogs from the beginning. All the research I’m finding is telling me, when a person has a knee tear it’s typically because of a traumatic event, BUT dog’s knee issues are typically just wear and tear, like running and jumping. So I would definitely recommend a ramp or stairs for your parent’s dog.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “I think perhaps the ramp is not long enough for the height of your vehicle which is why it is too steep a pitch. I can see why that pitch would be difficult for a senior dog with an injury. I also wonder how much weight that ramp would hold? It looks like a good ramp for a lower vehicle.”

I think you’re right about the height of my car. The pitch was perfect on the side of the car, but the door was in the way. According to the Solvit website, that particular ramp will hold up to 150 lbs.

Will the Guilty Party Please Stand

Dawn said, “Delilah, I believe you are being unjustly accused. Just because you are capable doesn’t mean you did it, right? It might be time to take a stand and retain counsel. This is more than just you, this is about dogs all over the world being made to take the fall. It’s time to fight back. I’ll start a GoFundMe for your revolution….Power to the Pups!”

Oh dear Dog, don’t give her any ideas. She already thinks she rules the roost. 🙂

Emma said, “I’m going to vote for the cat as the guilty party. Cat bro Bert was MIA last night for a bit…he would eat flowers.”

Oh boy. I hope it wasn’t Bert, if it was then my dogs are lying down on the job. 🙁

Jan said, “You definitely don’t need to call in the CSI team to solve this one. I wonder if purple is one of the colors dogs can see.”

Do they see colors? I had no idea.

Lauranne said, “You mean you brought something into the house which wasn’t for either Delilah or Sampson… I think the guilty party may be you 🙂”

I think you might be right. AND this comment made me laugh!

Sheena said, “Lady D…….All the way, all dang day!!”

What gave it away?

Cupcake said, “Well done, D. Walking on your back legs comes in handy!”

It sure does, you should see her clean the stove!

Jan K said, “Around here it’s usually our cat Samantha that would be the flower eater. However, we don’t think you have a cat….so who you gonna pass the blame on to, Delilah??”

Nope, no cat here, I’m going to have to go with the D-Dog. 😀

Well that’s it for me peeps, have an awesome 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.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

You Make Me Smile – April 17, 2016

Emma said, “We do perimeter searches every time we go out. We don’t want to be surprised by anything! It’s serious business.”

It sure is serious! What would we do without you?

Sue said, “Rudy hurries to the corner of the deck to survey his kingdom for intruders, then makes a huge loop to get rid of the birds before he begins a perimeter patrol. Rosie? She hurries off the deck to pee, then watches Rudy.”

Bah ha ha, I love Rosie. She knows Rudy has hit covered.

Jan K said, “That’s just about every morning at our house. We get the dogs outside, and both Cricket and Luke are running (racing) to the fence with their noses in the air!”

What is it about the fence that they love so? Mine love to run the fence line, but now that Sampson is injured, I have to be so careful opening the door when Delilah is riled up. He’s snuck out before and slipped. 🙁

Lauranne said, “Mity and BD both used to do this. However my favourite story is when a particularly annoying cat got his comeuppance. This cat would mock Mity, cause he was little when he would go out and bark the cat would get out of harms way but then just look at him as he barked his little head off. In the end one of us would have to go and move the cat along…However, one time it was BD and not Mity that got out to bark at said cat. You should have seen the look on the cats face when a large ginger dog appeared, not the small grey one it was expecting. Karma is a … large ginger dog.”

Cats can be so brazen can’t they? Where are the cameras when you need them?

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “That would be Maia at my house and she talks (tells off) the neighbor dog all the time 😉”

Oh Maia. I tell my guys that we don’t bark at our neighbors, but they don’t listen. 🙂

I Always Feel Like…

Taryn Tipton said, “The first Christmas in our house (eons ago and with long-gone Dylan), I shoot out the door for a quick walk because I know the day will quickly get away from me. I want to be sure Dylan is at least comfortable. Of course I forget the bags! Almost home, he takes a dump on someone’s lawn. I do the frantic bag search. Of course it is the one time there is no litter around. What can I do, I move on, fully intending to return immediately with a bag. The home owner, a loud man who did not own a “filthy dog”, starts screaming at me. Not just “you need to pick that up”, but a whole yelling lecture. I tell him I am coming right back but he keeps yelling at me until I am in tears. Wonderful way to start Christmas….”

I don’t understand people like that. If you tell them you will be back,why can’t that be enough? 

Genevieve said, “Ha! What an audience. I can see him judging.”

I could see it too, he was definitely wearing judgy pants.

Jan K said, “I forget them too often, but luckily we don’t walk in neighborhoods, we’re mostly along the woods. So if I can find a stick I will just push it out of the way where no one could step in it.”

Hehehe, I’ve done that too. Shhh, don’t tell anyone. 😉

Lauranne said, “I once went out without a poo bag but managed to beg one from a fellow dog walker. It’s always the way isn’t it you either have 50 or nothing. Even now I put on trousers I haven’t worn for a while and find about 5 poo bags (usually washed) in the pockets.”

I find them everywhere! In pockets, purses, jacket pockets, I even have one in the bag I take back and forth to work. WHY? I have no idea.

Emma said, “We can’t remember the last time we didn’t have a bag, but we can remember doing our business on the edge of a lawn, Mom with bag in hand, and the owner of the house yelling at us because they spend so much money for a nice lawn and dogs just ruin it, blah, blah, blah. I don’t think poop is like pee, but whatever. We walk by that yard a lot and Mom always says “asshole alert” in a soft tone to us.”

Ha ha ha, it’s like the douche canoe that told me he didn’t like dogs on his lawn. Whenever I pass his house I think to myself, “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let my dogs on your lawn to piss on you if you were on fire.”

Monika and Sam said, “Far too many times we’ve been caught empty handed, luckily there are a few neighbors close by with bag containers for communal use so I could go back and clean up. People crack me up in my neighborhood…they fuss about left poop but all too often, leave it themselves. Bastards. Lately I’ve tried tying a couple newspaper bags to the leash since I may forget to add one to my pocket so that’s keeping those un-bagged moments to a minimum and love it when someone asks to ‘borrow’ a bag because they’re out. Uh…no you can’t borrow one, but you can have one…with my blessings.-no need returning it after borrowing. 🙂”

🙂 No, please keep it. Siriusly? They have bags that they share? That’s pretty darn nice. We have a bag dispenser right inside the park and wouldn’t you know, 98% of the time, there’s a pile of poop within 20 feet of that dispenser.

Lexy said, “I usually just go up to the house Gwynn pooped at and ask for a bag. People are usually thrilled that I haven’t just abandoned his business on their lawn. It’s usually a grocery bag, but people are nice about checking for holes before giving them to me 😛”

Well that’s because you live in Canada, you Canadians are far nicer than we are. I can’t even imagine what one of my neighbors would say if I knocked on their door looking for a bag. LOL

Jen Gabbard said, “And thanks for getting the song stuck in my head… 🙂”

Misery loves company. 😀

Beth said, “I’ve definitely forgotten bags, too. Usually, I realize before we get too far and Barley only protests a little when I make her turn around and go get some with me, but once it happened when we were a couple miles from home with no one to come to our rescue–luckily, it was in the yard of an abandoned house where the grass was really overgrown, so we ran away as quickly as possible and didn’t walk on that road again for a few months in hopes that anyone who might have been watching would forget us!”

Hehehe, I mean, what else could you do?

DZ Dog Mom said, “I’ve forgotten before too!! I hate it when that happens. 🙁 One time thought I managed to find a “big gulp” cup someone had littered behind so I used that to scoop the poop and toss in the trash. LoL”

The next time I forget a bag, I will remember this and be scouring the area for cups. 

The Fox and the Hound

Lauren Miller said, “That’s so cool! I love foxes! We’ve come across deer, squirrels, bunnies and currently we have a cougar running around our neighborhood. I haven’t seen the cougar yet, though… and yes, I live in the city. We have no idea how it got here. One time we were driving in the mountains and we saw a badger. That was pretty cool!”

I worry about certain wildlife, we’ve had Bobcat sightings and just a few weeks ago two dogs were attacked by a pair of coyotes on a trail about three miles from my house. It’s why I always carry the pepper spray, you just never know.

Emma said, “We’ve seen a fox walking down our neighborhood street in the middle of the day a few times now. One morning Bailie and Mom were on their run about 2 miles from home when a fox came towards them on a street. It turned and sat down in a yard. They kept running, but Mom turned after about a block and was shocked to see the fox jogging right behind them. Bailie saw it and wanted to meet it. It was a scary thing for Mom as she didn’t know what to do. It was really early, no one was around, she had to pull all 40lbs of Bailie because she wanted to go to the fox. Finally, the fox stopped and sat down. A few days later we saw a fox on our morning walk very close to us, but he had a kill in his mouth and was on his way somewhere. Mom is scared a fox might go after Bailie. Bailie is bigger, but all the germs, fleas, diseases? Hopefully no more fox will be seen when we are on foot.”

That’s very scary Emma. Does Mom carry any sort of defense? Like pepper spray? We had a pair of young bears approach a woman walking on a wooded trail One of the bears went up to the woman and touched her leg. The bears were caught and euthanized. There was a quite an uproar, because the woman video’d the encounter and did nothing to discourage the bears. ;-(

Jan K said, “We had fox families around at our old house. They can be pretty ballsy. We once had one sitting outside the fenced in yard, in my garden, watching the dogs play ball! We often saw them strolling through the yard in the middle of the day, just outside the fence. A friend also had a standoff with one when walking her dog. It sat right down in the road and wouldn’t move! She has a yorkie so of course that made her very nervous too…she ended up turning around and going back home.”

Wow, I just can’t believe how brazen that fox was! The one we saw was running hell bent for election!

Julie said, “We saw a fox I the field and he looked at us and I was concerned that he was going to engage Cocoa. Or the other way around, haha.”

I hear your concern, I’m glad Delilah didn’t see him cross her path.

Meagan and Merlin said, “On walks I’ve come across kangaroos, a snake and a cute seal pup out sunbathing.”

Aw, that sounds awesome, except for the snake, I don’t care for them. But I’d love to see a kangaroo or seal! You must have an incredibly awesome area to walk in!

Taryn said, “A fox sighting gives me my aerobic work-out for the day! I run trying to give the boys a chance at a good chase! Here’s a post I did about 5 years ago…… Back then the boys had off-leash privileges, but after losing Wilson for over 3 hours to a fox, those days are gone!”

I’ve lost Delilah for 15 minutes and that was terrifying, I can’t imagine what you must have gone through! Thank goodness you got him back! Where Would We be Without Wilson’s Wordless Wednesdays?  

The link on Taryn’s name brings you to a post she wrote about fox sightings. Thanks for sharing that Taryn, I’m with you, if I see something I’m going to reel in my pups!

That’s it for me folks, have an awesome weekend!