Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and just generally wrap up my week.

You Make Me Laugh – April 3, 2016

Meagan and Merlin said, “Lol Merlin likes to spin on the bed straight after i made it. While it frustrates me it also makes me laugh. Silly boy.”

Yes, it can be frustrating, but how can you not laugh at them?

Hailey and Zaphod said, “I am laughing because Hailey “remakes” the bed to suit her often!”

In my house it seems like they don’t make the bed UNTIL I make the bed!

Jan said, “Three of my dogs insist on sleeping under the covers. It doesn’t make me laugh, I wonder how they don’t suffocate.”

Yeah, I wonder about that myself, how do they do it?

Jan K said, “The battle for covers is ongoing at our house! I usually lose. I usually throw an old sheet over our good quilt at bedtime to keep it clean. If Cricket beats us to bed, which she often does, she’ll have the old sheet all moved out of the way so she can lie on the quilt!”

LOL, I have to keep an extra blanket just to make sure my butt gets covered! I throw a sheet on the dog’s couch and Sampson will pull it enough so he’s sleeping on the sofa.

Maryann said, “Our Lila likes to sleep on a different floor from us – she can only take so much snuggling – which works for all involved. I don’t know how you get any sleep at night. :-)”

Some nights are better than others. 😉

Peyton said, “When my son was young (5-6), he slept in a lower bunk bed. At that time we had a huge Great Dane and he would like to sleep with my son. We would go in the room and my boy would pushed up against the wall with this huge dog taking up almost all of the bed.”

Oh my! Did your son love having the dog with him though? I bet he felt so safe.

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “My biggest laugh came the other day when I was working on a product review post and decided doing it with the three girls sounded like a good idea…well at least in my head it did. Anyway as I was holding the treats with one hand and trying to manipulate the camera with the other I have Riva and Cheyenne yelling at me “give me the treats” I did mange to get photos of this and noticed that the one of Riva she has her mouth open so wide I can almost see her tonsils.”

LOL did you post the photo?

All Points Bulletin

Cupcake said, “Gah! Mom and I are looking for them, too! But she can’t see with her scarf pulled up over her eyes and I can’t even keep my eyes open because of the 50 mile an hour winds! ”

I can’t pull up my scarf, it fogs up my glasses!

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Bwahahahaha! Cute! So winter came back and bit you on the ass, huh? ”

Yup, for like four days, now most of the snow is melted and temps will be in the 50’s and 60’s.

Jan said, “I would describe the weather here, but why make enemies?”

I know, I know. Beautiful weather all of the time, but there is that little earth shaking thing, that sort of scares me. 🙂

Jen Gabbard said, “Oh dear, and to think I was complaining about a half inch of snow yesterday. But my complaining is nothing compared to my boyfriends “smart people don’t go to the park when it’s below freezing” statement. Yeah, it was 31 F this weekend and Laika & I still had fun regardless of the bf’s poop face.”

LOL I have to disagree, smart people do go to the park when it’s below freezing, and the reason they do is because it’s too cold for the DADO’s. 🙂

Peyton said, “Hilarious post. I will admit that I actually thought you were being serious for a short period.”

Ha ha, sorry to scare you like that. 

Hailey and Zaphod said, “They are calling for another foot here tomorrow too. Sigh! It is the winter that never ends!”

UGH, poor you, that really stinks!

Pamela said, “Bwa ha ha! Mother Nature is a cruel bitch…I’m very thankful for warm temps in South Carolina. But I’m itching so much from no-see-um bites that I’m certainly not feeling cocky.”

I hear those little no-see-ums are nasty. I think I can tolerate the snow. 🙂

Monika and Sam said, “I’m with you-it was in the 60-70’s March 28-30. Then bam…a snow storm. There’s no accounting for that stupid rodent and his handlers but I think Mother Nature is suffering from menopause symptoms.”

I saw that, I hope it’s all gone by now. I don’t mind it so much when it’s winter, but once the warmer weather gets here, I hate going back. 

Lindsay said, “Some crazy weather you guys have had! Here in San Diego … pretty boring 72 degrees or so pretty much every day. I miss the snow!”

I love that temperature, I wish I could find somewhere with those temperatures on the east coast.

It’s a Pissing Contest – Barks and Bytes

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “Will you be posting something else on Thursdays?…I don’t think my guys really do that but I do have one that has a very nasty little habit and it is especially worse in the winter…a poop eater!!”

Right now I’m planning to continue the schedule I have of posting Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Follow-Up Friday. Of course, everything’s subject to change, but I’ll keep everyone posted.

And poop eating is SO disgusting and for some reason they love the frozen stuff.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “I just hope you’ll continue sharing your stories on the blog!”

Of course I will!

Taryn asked, “How do blog hops work? Is it a paid subscription to use someone’s server? May I ask what it cost for a year? My favorite is the Blog paws Wordless Wednesdsay blog hop. Lots of bang for the buck so to speak! Black and White Sunday is a nice one for getting creative.”

Here’s the way I understand it. A blog hop is sort of like a theme party for your blog. (Typically blog hops have ‘themes’ (Wordless Wednesday, Black and White Sunday)). The hosting blog inserts a ‘code’ into their post which allows other bloggers to add their post, or ‘link up’.  The idea then becomes all links to participating blogs should show up on every participating blog. That way a person should be able to start at the first blog and ‘hop’ their way along all of the participants. Sometimes people don’t add the code properly and some blogging formats don’t support the code in the same way. But that is the way I understand it.

As for the subscription, Linda and I used LinkyTools and that was $24 per year. There is also one called InLinkz but I don’t know what that costs. And I also don’t know if there are any others out there. Does that help?

Emma said, “Sorry your hop is ending, but as with FitDog Friday, we have all noticed hop participations are dwindling.”

I’ve noticed a big drop off in most blog hops. I’m sorry your blog hop ended Emma, I think blogging is changing and you will see less and less hops, but that is just my opinion.

Lauren Miller said, “Zoe is a huge marker and she’s even peed on Phoenix’s head before!”

Ha ha ha, Delilah did that to Sampson once too!

Sue said, “Most of the hops I’ve ever participated have called it quits. Sorry to see so many go. Tuesday’s Tails is headed that way, too.”

I’m sorry to hear that Sue, Lisa had such a great idea in starting that, hopefully it did help some pets get adopted.

Jan said, “I think of it as protecting each other. Timmy pees over the girls’ pee so any predator will sniff his pee and be very afraid. Or something like that. Who knows what goes on in little doggie brains.”

Wow, Timmy must be one tough dog!

Jan K said, “Oh, pissing contests are constant around here. It’s mostly the girls, but Luke joins in sometimes too. Usually Sheba goes, and then Cricket has to go in the exact same spot. I just observed them outside right before reading this…normally it’s just twice, but this time it was Cricket went, Sheba went on top of where she went, and then on the way back in the house, Cricket had to go on the same spot again! They really do crack me up with that…Sorry to hear that your hop is ending, but I guess they are kind of dying out as a thing?”

I don’t get it. LOL So Delilah didn’t end up peeing beyond his, BUT she did go out yesterday morning and poop right next to it. 🙂

As to the blog hops, I think blog hops are mostly for bloggers. They are great for finding new blogs and making connections for networking, but my opinion is that non-blogging readers don’t really understand what a blog hop is.

What I observe by watching B&B as well as other hops, is that a lot of people just link up and never bother visiting the hosting blog or any of the other participants. In my opinion, that is not what the nature or spirit of blog hops is.  I could write a whole post about it, but I’m pretty sure it would piss a whole bunch of people off. 🙂

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 reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

Happy Easter – March 27, 2016

Are you all getting tired of Delilah trying to eat the imaginary props in the photos? I admit trying to get both my dogs to pose for a photo is challenging and so I tend to take one that’s decent and edit it.

That’s not really cheating is it? 😉

I HAVE PROOF

Lorian Lipton said, “Around here there a people that walk off lead and let their dogs come all the way up on the lawn, making Louise and Sofie go ballistic. Don’t get me started on the people who see you turn around and then keep coming at full speed.”

You’ve got the DADO’s too. We have one with two little Yorkies on retractable leashes and she lets them run all over the place including people’s yards where they have e-fences. I call her, “Clueless and the Yappers”.  And we’ve had the chasers too. One that jacked up on me squeaking a too. Sigh.

Cupcake said, “A retractable leash would be my dream leash. No such luck. Mom watches me like a hawk! I’ve never been that far away from her since she adopted me. At this rate I’ll never get run over by a car or eat a chicken bone or a dead squirrel or a cigar butt…. Lucky Yorkie. Wait. What?”

LOL Cupcake, you like to live dangerously, don’t you?

Sheena said, “I would have shouted out: “my dog is NOT friendly and will eat your little dog as a Scooby snack!””

Here’s why I didn’t. I don’t want people saying she’s aggressive or vicious and reporting us to animal control.

Sue said, “Some people should not be allowed to have dogs 🙁 I’ve always believed you, too, Jodi, but a picture really does speak a thousand words. Wish you could come walk at our house. In my neighborhood there really are no DADOs like that.”

Oh Sue, I’d love nothing more!

Mary Hone said, “You need to make up some DADO signs and hand them out. “Here’s your sign!””

I’ve actually thought of making up some flyers I could put in people’s doors. Specifically the ones with dogs. 🙂

Lauranne said, “Oh take the dog off her and send it to me… and only you could boast about the fact you have a successful and thriving sex life in the middle of a DADO post (and yes I may be a little jealous!)”

Ba ha ha, I’m not sure I was boasting. (I wish I could send the dog to you, (s)he and Poppy would be great friends!)

Jan said, “We actually did think you might be making up all these DADO’s that you encounter, but your picture is worth 1000 words. And you are right, you must live in the DADO capital of the world.”

You can’t make this shit up. Most times I would try and take a photo, but I’ve usually got my hands full. 🙂

Jan K said, “OMG, they even have their backs to the poor dog in the middle of the road! I’m glad for you it was in a place where you could skirt around them, and that Delilah did so well. That one really takes the cake…unbelievable… PS…I’d love to read a post you might write about abstinence…LOL.”

That’s why it took me so long to figure it out! The two women were just looking at the house and I could see something in the road, then close by them and at first I thought it was a cat!

As for the post on abstinence….well I’m not sure it would be the right fit for this blog, but maybe a private Facebook post. 😉

Julie said, “I do not believe the stupidity of some people. I mean, the dog is in the ROAD!! Hello people!! Like, do they really think that is an appropriate thing??”

I was just as flabbergasted as you are! I thought I’d seen it all.

2 Brown Dawgs said, “I can’t imagine allowing my dog to hang out in a road. I would never teach my dog that was an acceptable play area.”

Me either! On the rare occasion we stop to talk with someone, I pull my dogs off onto the grass and they will either sit or lie down.  I think some day that woman might be in for a surprise. And not a pleasant one.

Maggie said, “Ridiculous. No common sense whatsoever. We had a similar DADO in our old neighborhood who walked her Collie on a retractable. She thought her dog should meet every single dog in the world and let her roam into the street to cross towards a dog on the other side, or let her wander up to a group of dogs at full extent of the leash, or even once up our porch. No clue. Then Lucas would flip the eff out, and she’d do this irritating giggle and say something like, “Well, that’s not nice.” Asshat.”

Asshat is right. I’d probably say something if she came up on my porch. 🙁 

Taryn said, “While it is not surprising that they didn’t rein in the dog for you, a car is a whole other story. Not all drivers are paying attention to the road! What if that preson had been texting! Gah,”

Right? I couldn’t believe it. I should have video’d it.

Swamped – Barks and Bytes

Lauren Miller said, “I get inspiration from all sorts of things. Sometimes it’s my annoying neighbors with their annoying dogs, sometimes it’s something bad or good that my dogs did. Sometimes I just have something I NEED to say. It just really depends!”

As you know, a LOT of my inspiration comes from the DADO’s. 🙁

Taryn said, “Almost all my ideas come when I’m out walking. It is the only time my mind has time to wander enough. And there is nothing worse than a long blog post that gets eaten by the computer (blogger is famous for that!) No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to capture the original zest of the first writing!”

Walking is typically where I get my inspiration for the same reasons as you. My mind is busy. WordPress isn’t usually glitchy like that and I’m not sure if it was my computer or what. But it was late and I just didn’t have the energy to try and replicate it.

Emma said, “Mom gets most of her writing done in her head on walks and runs, or just be watching me. She says I’m very inspirational.”

Mom and I are very alike in where we get our inspiration Emma. 🙂

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s mom said, “If it was a swamp, you’d know it by the smell – ewwww! – and there would be plenty of water that you wouldn’t want D-Dog to drink or even play in – big ewww! – but I love the twisted trees! In the summer it must look like a haunted forest!”

Part of the post was about those trees. They are Mountain Laurel, (which is our state flower) and the Mountain Laurel in this area have been battling a fungus for about three or four years now. SO in the summer they aren’t fully green, but it looks like they are beginning to battle back!

Jan said, “Why didn’t you write about that creature who is coming at you through the trees? You do see him, right?”

AHHH, don’t freak me out like that! It’s bad enough I imagine someone running through there in the dark chasing someone.

Lauranne said, “Oh, and my gift to you. Walking up hill tones your bum, so feel free to focus on that next time you head up hill a long way. :-)”

Tell my bum that, would you? 😉 I’ve been walking up that freaking hill for four years and my bum still isn’t toned!

Jan K said, “Walking often clears my mind and inspires me. But I probably do my best “writing in my head” when I’m lying awake at night unable to sleep! LOL”

Oh no! Not sleeping is the worst! I’ll have to share some of my techniques with you.

Well 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 – March 20, 2016

Taryn said, “When the deer run behind my house or the squirrel runs along the powerline strung back there, nothing will call the boys off of those!”

Those ARE tough ones. Hopefully I see them first, LOL because if I don’t, all hell can break loose!

Meagan & Merlin said, “Merlin usually focuses on inanimate objects lol. The last standoff he had was with a bucket of all things.”

BA HA HA, I hear that. Christmas time is awesome, when all the peeps put out their lawn ornaments. 🙂

Monika and Sam said, “There have been a couple of occasions when I couldn’t get Sam to not uber focus on a passing dog. He even walked into a pole because he was so focused on one particular dog he just couldn’t take his eyes off of no matter what I tried to distract him. No wonder that dog is so dimwitted. And yes, I did laugh my butt off at his crash cuz that’s the way I roll. :-)”

OH. MY. DOG. I would have laughed too. In fact, I’m laughing now. Yes. I am.

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “Cheyenne’s focus is on me always. 🙂 ”

THAT is so sweet!

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat

Genevieve said, “It’s all about patience. I stand there watching and wait out the digging and tossing of dirt clods. Breathe. Check the sky. Plan the day. Twiddle my thumbs. When Miss-all-of-a-sudden-I’m-the-neatest-tidiest-dog-in-the-world is finished, then and only then will I bend down and pick it up.”

Yes, do all of those things. But try, just once to take a picture and see what happens. 😉

Emma said, “Our only problem according to the mom is when she is focused on picking up and we take off after something like a critter rather than holding our stay.”

Been there, done that. If only we spoke each other’s language. 🙂

Julie said, “Sometimes after Cocoa poops she gets all crazy and wants to run. So I will be picking up poop and making sure it gets in the bag and she is running around me and I am spinning in circles while closing the poop bag and hoping people do not think we are totally nuts, haha.”

Ha ha, it sounds like when Delilah thinks she will be getting a treat. Sometimes it looks like I’m competing in the Olympics and doing a triple.

Jan said, “Years ago I moved to a place where it never snows, so to answer your question, no…”

BUT you have those pesky times when the earth shakes. That sort of scares me.

Lauranne said, “Mity used to do that, once I think it was my sister who ended up with a mouthful of leaves as she had bent down before he had finished doing his “feet wiping” routine.”

Perhaps Mity had a premonition of what she might be doing right about now. Karma for future events? 😉

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Your poop stories always give me a severe case of the giggles! And the expression on Delilah’s face is priceless!”

Good, I don’t want to be the only one giggling. Delilah IS priceless.

WHY – Barks and Bytes

Sometimes I feel like I should change my tag line to “Encounters with clueless dog owners.” Honestly, it happens so frequently I can barely believe it myself.

Taryn Tipton said, “I guess some people are just clueless. They have a dog that doesn’t react (or a tiny dog that does but they think it’s cute) so it never occurs to them all dogs aren’t that way. It is esp. bad at the vets office where 99% of the dogs are already stressed out more than usual.”

I agree and I guess I’m most shocked that the people that work at the Vet’s office don’t know this and aren’t advising people to use their heads!

Lauren Miller said, “It happens in dog training class, too! I’ve had to step between so many dogs because their owners let them go nose to nose with dogs they don’t know. People don’t realize that these things can go so badly.”

I know, it happens just about everywhere. Honestly, you’d think people would think about things, wouldn’t you?

Sheena said, “I always say “he’s NOT friendly! And I am even less friendly!” Most people catch the clue and get out of the way and not try to let their dog near us! “He’ll bite you” (or your dog) works well too!”

I don’t like to “label” her with that, because I don’t want someone in the neighborhood reporting me for having a dog that ‘bites.’ If I’m given the opportunity, I’ll typically say, she can be snarky sometimes on leash.

Emma said, “I find those incidents all unacceptable, especially at the vet! Even the friendliest dog can be stressed at the vet causing bad reactions.”

I agree. I expect when I take my dog to the Vet or to the training center that the people in charge understand dogs and work to keep my dogs safe. Honestly,  I don’t think it’s a lot to ask.

Sue said, “Whatever happened to common sense? I mean, isn’t common sense to keep your dog on leash at the vet’s? Ditto restraining your dog from approaching others until the other dog owner gives an okay of some kind? This is one thing my vet has right. They keep a bunch of slip leads on a leash hook by the door with a big sign saying all dogs must be on leash (and furthermore, cats must be crated.)” …”In our case Rudy is absolutely terrified being in the vet’s office. It literally scares the shit out of him. Would he attack another dog? I really don’t want to find out.”

I don’t know, it boggles my mind sometimes. I like the idea of having the slip leads readily available. Maybe I’ll ask my vet if they would use them if I donated some. And you shouldn’t have to wonder if he would attack another dog because the Vet’s office should be using their heads!

Jan K said, “I haven’t seen an off leash dog at our vet, thank goodness. I have seen dogs acting out, lunging and pulling towards us, and then MY dog gets criticized for growling at theirs!
It’s not all that surprising that everyday people are clueless, but the vet techs and vets? That’s unbelievable, because as others said, even your best dog can be stressed out if they are sick or injured. The people there are in the position where they need to strictly enforce their rules.”

That would make me mad if someone said something about my dog, when (s)he was provoked. And yes, you could have the most wonderful dog in the world, but if they are sick or injured they might react differently than when they are well.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “Except for a few very young puppies held in their owners’ arms, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any dog off its leash at our vet’s office. ”

Even then, I would still want them on leash. What if they squirmed and ended up being dropped? What if that dog that the lady was holding freaked out and bit me? My face would have been just about perfect height for that.

Jan said, “I haven’t seen off leash dogs at my vet, but they have big signs and extra leashes and people monitoring the dogs for compliance.”

Well that makes sense and if people won’t comply then they should be told to wait in their car. That’s all I’m saying, don’t put my dog at risk because of someone else’s stupidity.

Lauranne said, “I never get people who let animals interact at the vets… my dog could be here cause he is ill and I don’t know what’s wrong with him, sure lets have him pass the germs to yours as well!”

EXACTLY! Typically if the Vet’s office suspects something contagious they would usher the ill dog in right away, but what if they don’t? That person could be exposing their dog to something that has the chance to be deadly.

Julie said, “Someone once yelled to me as their dog was running up to us that they are friendly. Well, good for them but Cocoa may not be!!”

THANK YOU. I want to scream at them, “Pull your head out of your ass!”

Misty Shores Chesapeakes said, “My vet example happened with Riva with an older woman in the waiting area of the office. She could see Riva was anxious and I was holding her close to me on leash but when the lady walked by us (and there was plenty of room for her to avoid us) she reached out and touched her, so Riva reached out and touched her. No one was hurt but she proceeded to tell my vet that Riva jumped at her but I guess she forgot to tell her that she as the human did not abide by the warning signs and body language of my dog, do not touch me or encroach on my space.”

That just made me do a head whip. For real? I think I might have been tempted at the moment myself, to reach out and touch that woman. WTF is wrong with people?

DZ Dogs said, “Vets know the body not the brain or behavioral stuff, as i’ve come to find out the hard way…There is one nurse at our office who has been there forever but Dante hates her, which I can’t blame him. First time I ever brought him in she man handled him, freaked him out, and then had the nerve to tell me he was dangerous and needed to be muzzled!!

I just think if you work in that field, you should have some general knowledge. And that would piss me off if someone man handled my dog too!

Beth said, “We’ve gotten several new vet techs recently (we miss our old ones desperately!), but they’ve been very good about dealing with Barley when I’ve said, “She doesn’t do well with other dogs.” I think it might also help that I refuse to budge from the entryway if there is another dog in the waiting room–on or off leash–and I stand there next to the door in case we need an escape and there’s a divider blocking Barley’s view of the other dogs.”

I am always vigilant and if I see someone coming in the door with a dog, I will move to the cat area or ask to be put in a room. If need be, like you, I’ll leave. 

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