A Poem by Rubin
The thing about puppies is they are cute
The thing about puppies it they come in all shapes and sizes
The thing about puppies is they grow up and are still cute
The thing about puppies is they are persistent
The thing about puppies is that sometimes they need to learn to be more respectful
The thing about puppies is they CAN slow down
The thing about puppies is that they are everything we hope to be when we grow up!
Until tomorrow,
Puppy Rubin
One MomentWe went through our Wags n’ Words photographs this morning and were overwhelmed by the over 4000 pictures in the album. Yikes! We take a lot of photographs, though you only see the cream of the crop. We also delete a lot, but still to end up with over 4000 is quite a feat.
I asked Gretchen, “How do we show all of these photos to our clients?”
“We don’t,” she said. “How about today we just focus on one moment for each dog.”
“You mean, just one photograph for each dog?”
“Well, maybe two,” she said, “but tonight, because it’s the end of a long week and because it’s hard to publish them all, let’s just do a few. What do you say?”
“Okay, sounds like a plan,” was my response.
But which photos? This is much harder than you might think, but I’ve winnowed it down to the following with a brief tale (tail?) of why I think these one (or two) moments capture the spirit of each dog. 
First up, Monty — my best friend and our current house guest. As the picture to the right illustrates, Monty is regal in many ways. He can lie in the shade of a hot day, his long legs outstretched, and look like he’s posing for a painting. Everyone stops us on the street to ask what kind of dog he is and Monty always responds with a tail wag, a sniff, and gentle hello.
But there’s another Monty that only his closest friends (that would be me) and his family know about. Monty is a goof as illustrated in this next photo.
Monty loves to play fetch, but more than anything, Monty loves treats and Gretchen’s pockets are always filled to the brim with some kind of treat. Monty knows this and when asked to sit or wait or come, he is eager not to please, but to retrieve a treat.
What I like best about this picture, why I think it captures his true spirit is because of his inquisitive nose, but also his bottle-brush tail. That is Monty through and through and even though he’s begging for treats, he does it in a way that can only make you laugh.
Next up today was Wilson. It’s taken me awhile to get to know Wilson, but here are two photos I think really capture his spirit.
The first is Mr. Friendly Wilson. He has never shown an aggressive or irritated moment in the time we’ve known him. Every dog and person is a potential friend and when he meets someone new (like Dixie here) he invariably says, “Aw shucks, it’s nice to meet ya!”
The second photo demonstrates Wilson’s happy-go-lucky nature. This guy is always smiling…always. He is as happy to walk to the beach as he is to play some fetch. We’ve never seen him have a sad or angry moment and whenever he sees the camera, he smiles one of the biggest smiles of any of our dog clients.
Next up, Dixie, who isn’t our client, but we see her (and Gypsy) enough that we have to include them. When we first met them, I was a little shy. They looked like mean dogs at first, but the second they greeted me, they were all wags and wiggles. I liked that because, as a puppy, that was me — Mr. Wags and Wiggles.
Dixie has a bad habit of running off every now and then, but we learned yesterday if you have a treat, she’ll stick around. As I’ve stated, Gretchen always has treats and now that Dixie knows it, she comes whenever Gretchen calls, eager for any tiny morsel from her pocket.
The first time I met Gypsy, who lives with Dixie, I was amazed by her short legs and her ability to race around faster than a squirrel. Gypsy likes to play chase and in a burst of speed she’ll get a pack of dogs to chase after her in a heartbeat.
It’s funny because I like to be chased, too, but when Gypsy’s around, even I feel compelled to chase her. She just has this engaging smile that taunts you — bet you can’t catch me — and then it’s game on!
But when Gypsy is done, she’s done and often rests in the shade until her family is ready to go home.
Still, there is that smile — inquisitive, curious, mischievous, and playful. I don’t know why I was so worried about her when we first met. So glad I got over it, though because when we get a chance to play at the park, it’s guaranteed fun with Gypsy around!
Oh, and I like her human family, too. They are very nice to me and it’s clear, they love Dixie and Gypsy very much…or maybe it’s just the treats in Jacob’s pocket?
After Wilson and our unexpected play time with Dixie and Gypsy, it was Oshi and Perrito’s turn for a spin. They actually walked Wilson home today and then went for a stroll in the park. 
Perrito is the youngest of the two boys and you can see it in every photograph we take of him. Whether he’s flying across the field chasing after me or a ball, whether he’s greeting a new dog or saying hello to an old friend, Perrito does everything with enthusiasm.
On a walk, he’s always out front. Always. He weaves left, then right, and stops at a tree for a sniff and lift of his leg. He can puff up to look bigger when needed or curl up by your feet for some extra special loving. He’s a clown and a love all in one dog.
His brother (though they aren’t related), is in many ways Perrito’s polar opposite. Oshi is Mr. Serious. Some might see him as Mr. Humbug because he’s not very fond of leaving the house, but once you get to know him, you realize he’s just shy and contemplative.
He meditates on his walk, thinks deep and real thoughts, and encourages us all to slow down and feel the world around us. Though he comes across as a loner, if there are pets and love to be given out, Oshi is first in line. In many ways, he acts very much like a cat (and in fact, he likes cats a lot…imagine!). Now if only he could purr. He grunts, but I have yet to hear him purr.
Finally today, our last walk was with Bella. Even though I’ve only known Bella for a short time, her dog-anality burns bright. Bella is playful, goofy, and a free spirit. When she comes over to our house, we laugh because she’s always moving. I mean, always moving. There isn’t a part of her body that holds still. That’s why these next series of photos are so astonishing. She’s actually holding still. Yes, she’s practicing the wait command (quite well, I might add), but she’s pretty much calm and relaxed. We never see Bella calm and relaxed. Still, if you look closely you’ll see, that wily Bella is just itching to get a move on!
“Is that a squirrel?”
Only 15 photos today — 15 from the 180 total we took, 120 of which we deleted and 60 we saved. Maybe we should write a book?
Hey Gretchen, what would it take to write a book?
Oh Rubin! It’s late. Finish up and let’s go to bed, okay?
Okay…goodnight all and have a great weekend!
Rubin
Whadda ya know?You will be surprised to know that there are always surprises in my line of work. Moments when something unpredictable happens or moments when I have to stop and say to myself, “Whadda ya know?” or “Imagine that!” Such moments happen a lot and I only wish Gretchen had a camera behind her eyes so she could stop, blink, and record the moment.
Instead, her camera is in her backpack most of the time and only comes out when we stop and play or she decides to stop in the middle of the walk and stage a photo. Today had many “whadda ya know” moments the first being that today is Ollie’s birthday! He turned two years old today and so we decided that he deserved an extra long walk and play time.
Gretchen picked him up first and then headed back to fetch Monty and me who were waiting patiently at home during the morning while she worked in her classroom. Ollie was happy to see us and was thrilled even more when we sang him the Happy Birthday song. Monty and I had already been on a walk earlier in the morning and since Monty is a bit older, he stayed behind to relax and rest and prepare for more activity later.
Ollie was kind of sad that Monty couldn’t join the birthday party, but he understood and got over it pretty quickly when we walked over to pick up Gemma who gave Ollie a birthday wag as well. Then it was off to the park so we could play and whadda ya know? Saber was there! It was an impromptu party and party we did!
Gemma and Saber, as you can see, formed a puppy knot instantly and Ollie watched. “Those two are wild,” he told me, “And I don’t want to get my birthday suit dirty so I’m going to stay out of the way.”
Good idea buddy, good idea.
Since Saber and Gemma were “tied up” as it were, I decided it was okay to play with Saber’s toy – a very loud squeaky blue ball. Ollie liked it, too!
While Ollie and I played, Saber and Gemma wore each other out. In almost every picture Gretchen took this morning, Saber and Gemma were in it, tangled together in play.
Don’t think that Ollie and I didn’t play. We did, but we never got as tired as the puppies.
We took Gemma home after that and then Ollie came back to our house so Gretchen could drop me off. Next, he and Gretchen walked to Bella’s house and Bella was overwhelmed with excitement to meet the Birthday boy. Since Bella is a puppy and a strong puppy at that, it was impossible for Gretchen to get a photo of the two dogs together. All of Gretchen’s energy went to keeping Bella in a “heel” and Ollie at a comfortable distance from the excited pup! By the time Ollie got home, he too was tired from the long walk and the long play time. We sure hope he had a happy birthday the rest of the day!
Gretchen then walked Bella, who was now a bit more under control since the Ollie distraction was safely at home. In fact, Bella did really well practicing her obedience so that by the time she got to our house, she wasn’t too wild in her desire to play with me (though you might think otherwise after looking at the pictures!). Imagine that!
At one point, Bella found my red squeaky toy and decided to play by herself while I rested. Whew!
As you can see, we played in the shade a lot. Despite autumn just around the corner, it was hot today so playing in the shade felt like a good idea.
Since Bella found the red toy interesting, I decided it was interesting, too. At that point, it became a game of keep away and Bella did everything she could to “persuade” me to give her the toy.
I’ll admit, I teased her a lot, but whatta ya know? She didn’t seem to mind. It was all a game to Bella and we played like this for a long time until finally it was time for Bella to go back home.
At one point, Monty decided to venture out on the lawn to say hello to Bella. Well, let’s just say, Bella said hello to him and whatta ya know, Monty was okay with that!
Bella did really well on her way home and when she got inside her house, she walked, leash and all right into her crate. She was tired and that meant we’d done our job!
Monty and I got a long rest this afternoon, which was good because we still had Wilson this evening. The plan was to go to the lake, but whadda ya know? We ran into Dixie and Gypsy at the park and decided that looked like more fun!
For some reason, the park smelled really interesting tonight and we spent as much time sniffing around as we did playing.
Dixie’s mom said that Dixie didn’t really play fetch, but once we pulled out an orange and blue ball, Dixie proved her wrong. I’m telling you, we haven’t met a dog yet who who doesnt’ like that ball!
Wilson, on the other hand, loves any ball but he, too, has a particular fondness for the orange and blue ball. In fact, he has a few of them at home himself. Imagine that!
As the sun set, we had a great time playing with all of our friends…Monty, Wilson, Gypsy, Dixie, and me!
As we walked slowly home (we were all tired) Wilson gently bumped into Monty and me, rubbing his long, lean body against ours and saying, “I thought I was not going to see you guys today, but you showed up and made me a very happy fellow.”
Imagine that.
Until tomorrow,
Rubin
PS — HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OLLIE!
I realized something today. All of you out there who read my blog and see the photos of the day, but you don’t really get a full-view sense of our time with each client. You might, through my stories, come to understand the dog-a-nalities of each client, but there is a lot more that is packed into an hour adventure or even a half hour walk.
So, to help you grasp the complexities of each dog, I thought I’d take a moment to share with you those first ten minutes — a time of excitement, silliness, and a bit of chaos.
Today’s dogs included Wilson, Bella, Ollie, Gemma, Oshi, and Perrito as well as Monty (who is still living with us) and myself. Yes, that’s seven dogs. Luckily for Gretchen, Ann pitched in to help and met Gemma, Ollie and me at the park with Oshi, Perrito, and Monty in tow. Before I tell you about the excitement at the park, I’ll give you a quick synopsis of those first 10 minutes with each dog.
First up, Ollie. Ollie has a dog door so he is free to go from inside his house to his backyard at his leisure. 
When we arrive, Gretchen calls out his name and the furry ball races out the dog door, peers at us over the porch railing, and then bounds his way down the stairs to meet us at the gate. And this is when the bouncing happens. Not just short bounces, but mile high touch the sky leaps of excitement. In an attempt to reinforce the “off” command, Ollie has learned NOT to jump on Gretchen, but rather next to her. Unfortunately, he hasn’t learned the same with me and often he leaps right in my face he’s so happy to see us.
Once leashed up, Ollie settles right down though he has a spring to his step that continues throughout our walk. He also spends a lot of the first ten minutes checking in — looking at me then looking at Gretchen — not quite certain where we are going or who we are going to see.
Today we saw Gemma next and once we rounded the corner to her house, Ollie bounced even more. He
really likes Gemma and so he is thrilled when he knows that’s the path on which we are headed. Now Gemma isn’t as bubbly when we first walk in the door. She sees us, wags her tail a bit, and then races around the house waiting for Gretchen to retrieve her leash from the front closet. Of course, the whole time she’s saying, “Let’s go, come on, let’s go. Time to move. Open the door Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Being the good dog walkers that we are, we don’t head out the door until Gemma is sitting and waiting, which she does fairly quickly. But that’s when the real action happens because Gemma lives next door to a not very happy dog. The unhappy dog next door lunges and barks at the fence and that stirs Gemma’s blood. She goes a bit crazy though we move as quickly as we can down the stairs and on our way. It’s a little spooky at times, but luckily there’s a huge fence between us and I model how to ignore unhappy dogs. Gemma hasn’t quite learned that yet, but we’re working on it!
For the next few minutes, Gemma hops down the street looking for things. She looks for our car because sometimes we go on field trips, she looks for other dogs because sometimes we bring other friends, and she looks for squirrels because she, like me, loves a good squirrel chase.
Oshi and Perrito each have their own unique behaviors during the first ten minutes. When Gretchen 
opens the door, Perrito leaps at her legs and says, “Where have you been? I thought you forgot about us!” and Oshi saunters over wagging his tail (unless he’s on the couch and doesn’t feel like walking…then he just lies there!). Once they’re leashed up, they race down the steps, say hello to me or whoever is with us, and pee like wild horses. Yes, the first ten minutes of their walk is all about lifting legs again and again and again until finally, it’s all released and they can focus on something other than relieving themselves.
I suppose I should share Monty’s first ten minutes even though he’s now living with us if only temporarily. When we walk him on his regular days, his first ten minutes almost always start w
ith a loud woof from the window when he hears us coming. And then, if we listen carefully, we can hear him thunder down the stairs of his townhome where he meets us at the front door. That’s when he starts dancing, spinning around the foyer of the entryway, backing up into the other room. Once out the door, he prances down the street and always stops at the corner wondering which direction we’ll head — to the park or to the trails?
Unlike Oshi and Perrito, Monty is very particular about where and when he pees, but let me tell you, when he lifts his leg, it’s a long pause in our walk. That boy can pee like a real race horse and Gretchen often jokes that he’s trying to spell his full name — Montague.
Bella, being a puppy, is all about trying to do the right thing. When we arrive at her house, she is 
generally wiggling like mad in her kennel, but she knows she’s supposed to wait before she comes out. That’s a hard thing for Bella, but she really, really wants to do the right thing so she controls herself until Gretchen gives her the okay.
Gretchen also makes her wait on the landing before the door and once again, Bella knows exactly what she’s supposed to do, but her body makes it hard for her to obey. She wiggles and squirms herself into a sitting/waiting position, watches the door open with quivering anticipation, and contains all her excitement until once again Gretchen gives her the okay.
The rest of the ten minutes are devoted to remembering “heal” but once those ten minutes are up, Bella does really well at healing with an occasional bolt to the left or right. But she IS getting better — now if only her body didn’t have different intentions than her mind!
Finally, this afternoon we walked Wilson and he, too has his own ten minute style. Two things to remember about Wilson — he’s big and he’s young. Not quite a year old, he struggles with his body moving in the direction he wants it to go and containing his excitement on slick hardwood floors.
At Wilson’s house there is an alarm so Gretchen most calmly walk to the system to punch in the code all the while trying not to step on or be run over by a very big and very happy Golden. Once the leash is on, Gretchen must reset the alarm, calmly walk out the door, and make sure all locks are locked. Wilson is very patient with this process, but once we start walking, he is all bubbles and glee. “I’m so glad you’re here. I just can’t tell you how happy it makes me.”
There are other dogs and other first ten minutes to tell you about, but covering today’s clients is enough for now. I shall share the rest of our time through photos with a special nod to a new client we’ll be walking starting Monday — Saber — a 13 week old black lab who is actually silver coated. We ran into Saber today out with his dad and Saber was not overwhelmed at all by six dogs in the park. In fact, he and Gemma fell madly in love and Ollie joined in creating balls of puppies all over the park.
They had their calm moments, but only after they raced and chased and romped making us all very, very tired just watching them!
Oshi and Perrito weren’t so excited about the racing, chasing puppies and they pretty much stayed out of the way. Monty and I did the same letting the younger generation wear each other out!
Saber is very young, but he’s going to be a big boy when he grows up. I’m certain he’ll have his own way
of spending the first ten minutes of our walk that will be uniquely his own. I’m sure he’ll pick up a thing or two from all the other dog clients, but we are very individualistic so I imagine he’ll have his own first ten minute stories to tell!
After we took Ollie, Gemma, Oshi and Perrito home (with Ann walking back to the house with Monty and me), Gretchen made her way over to Bella’s house. They went for a nice walk, visiting with Christy, the mail carrier along the way. Bella seemed a bit tired today, but once she got on the road, she was very alert and excited. They walked over to our house, where lo and behold, we had visitors of our own. Visitors of the human kind!
This is Liam and he loves to visit our house with his mom, Mary. He likes dogs, too, and photography as well and helped Gretchen give us water, take a few pictures, and make certain we weren’t playing too roughly.
Bella was very good with Liam (and visa versa) and really enjoyed when Liam filled the pool for a quick, refreshing dip on another hot day.
Liam hung out with Monty because Monty was kind of tired and needed some sun time on the deck. Meanwhile, Bella and I did what Bella and I do of late — we played!
Monty joined us at one point, but decided that Bella was way too fast for him…
Monty never did get Bella to stand still in one place for very long. Monty has a habit of wanting to smell everything and everybody, but sometimes there are things to do as Bella so diligently illustrates every time we’re with her.
Gretchen walked Bella through the park practicing her heel the whole way. By the time Bella got home, she was actually happy to climb into her kennel and take a nice nap. I guess she eventually does run out of steam.
Our day was not over, though, for Wilson was still left to walk. After a nap, Monty and I went with Gretchen to retrieve the big guy and he was thrilled to see us all on his doorstep. After a walk, we ended up at the big field, which is a place we love to play, but is often in use with kids playing soccer or Ultimate Frisbee players practicing. Today, nobody AND Mt. Rainer was out so Gretchen thought it was the perfect back drop for fetch and photos.
The first ten minutes are unique, but then again, so are the last. We dropped Monty off at the house and Wilson and I walked the long way back to his home. We were tired, for sure, but we were also happy and
content knowing we’d played well and played hard. Along the way, there are photo opportunities that Gretchen just can’t pass up and with the mountain calling to her, she let us rest one more time while she snapped this photo. I know it’s hard to see, but in the distance, tucked between the trees and looking as if it’s sitting on top of the house is Mt. Rainier.
I wonder what its first ten minutes of life were like? Ours? Varied and different, unique and special. It’s all in a day’s work, no?
Until tomorrow,
Rubin
The Fading LightThere is something about the arrival of fall that makes me a bit nostalgic. I know, I’m a mere boy in the eyes of many, but in my 2 1/2 years of age and year as a dog dog walker, I’ve been around the block a time or two.
What I like about fall is the light. Take for instance the morning light. It’s arriving later, it’s a bit chillier, and it’s heavier with the mist of morning. The evening light is the opposite — warm and golden, it casts the most amazing shadows before it fades away.
Today, we tried to capture the light in all of its autumnal manifestations. It’s hard, of course, since we are in charge of a plethora of pups including Ollie, Gemma, Bella, Wilson, and Monty, and as much as we try to manage all the dogs and photograph the light, sometimes we are simply laughing at the mayhem of our work.
First up, Ann, Monty, and I walked Gretchen to work. It was a beautiful morning with rain-scented air from last night’s cloud burst. Gretchen returned home a few hours later with Ollie and Gemma in tow and leashed up Monty and me for a trip to the small park. There we played as the noon sun heated the day, dried up the moist grass, and flashed in our gleeful eyes.
As you can see, Gemma and Ollie played with vigor today, racing up and down the field, wrestling on the grass, and waiting patiently for something fun to happen. I tried my best to keep moving, but those puppies like to wrestle right under my feet so sometimes it’s hard to move forward.
Eventually, everyone tired out a bit and that’s when Gretchen tried her hardest to capture those silly moments we see every day like Monty showing off his belly (which he did a lot today) and getting us all to look the same direction for a group photo. Sorry Gretchen, it’s not going to happen!
Of course, it didn’t take long before the puppies started playing again and begging for the treats in Gretchen’s pocket…
At one point, Gretchen got us all lined up for the last photo of the day, but Ollie kept scooting forward every time she backed up to get the shot. I heard him say, “Wait, come back here. The treats are in your pocket and you keep moving away!” She got three of us in the shot, but Ollie, well, he got to be his own star in his own photo…
Gretchen walked Monty and me back home and then she and Gemma walked Ollie back to his house. Ollie did his typical “see you later” when he got inside his gate and then shot through the dog door and into his house as fast as he could. Gemma was a little taken aback, but she got over it as they headed back to her house.
Gemma lives close to Bella, so on her way back to our house, Gretchen picked up the wild and crazy Bella! Woo-wee what a handful that girl is! Gretchen worked on the “heal” command at the park and after about 10-15 minutes, Bella finally eased into it, but by they time Gretchen got back to our house with Bella at her side, it was game on!
As you can see, we practiced our dance moves, too and then I spent the rest of the time trying to stay out of wild Bella’s way. But she stalked me down. She’s a wily one, that pup!
Bella might look all sweet and innocent from the back side…
…but check out these eyes! See the mischief?
Yep, she’s a player and so, what’s dog dog walker like myself to do? Play on!
Let’s just say, Bella isn’t complaining!
Where’s Monty in all of this? Well, since Bella arrives at 1 and Monty must eat lunch, he only gets to say hello and then he has to rest before his meal. He seems okay with it…can you see him behind the screen practicing his “kush?” (A llama move with the front legs tucked under the body…)
Bella eventually went home while Monty and I rested — me after my play time and Monty after his meal. Gretchen, in the meantime, went back to her classroom and stayed there until this afternoon when the light of the day glowed like honey.
Our day felt done, but it wasn’t as there was still one more dog to walk. Gretchen went to retrieve him while Ann walked us to the park to meet up with funny boy Wilson and there we played fetch in the fading light of a beautiful day.
Wilson’s coat really shows off the autumn light, doesn’t it? And see how the shadows (Gretchen’s included) cast long and lean (which Gretchen likes very much!)? Glorious!
I know, it looks like only Wilson played fetch, but Monty and I chased after our fair share of balls, too. Monty in particular was having fun in the sunset.
Gretchen enjoyed her time because she could focus on the camera while Ann focused on throwing the balls. At one point, she threw mine in the bushes though and then had to give me explicit directions on how to find it. Wilson, meanwhile, waited for his turn.
See how the light makes everything look mystical? That’s what I like about fall. Of course soon it will be dark when we play fetch, which isn’t a bad thing because we can play with the blinky balls, but it’s not that conducive to good photographs!
After lots and lots of fetch, we rested a bit. Well Monty and I rested. Wilson doesn’t rest much. Monty though is really good at relaxing. He spread out to show his belly again and then laid transfixed by his ball (which is really my ball, but don’t tell him!)
At the end of the day, we were all pretty tired and the sun was on its way behind the mountains. It was a perfect time to walk Wilson back home…off into the sunset!
Until tomorrow,
Rubin
The Business of Being BusyI must start with Sunday. Even though it wasn’t a work day, I feel the need to honor my grandparents who celebrated 60 years of marriage. That’s worth celebrating, don’t you think? So celebrate we did and when I say “we” I mean all of us — Ann, Gretchen, me, and Monty.
We started out our Sunday early, driving to their home and visiting for awhile. Monty likes to visit Grandma and Grandpaw’s house because there are lots of interesting places to see, things to smell, and most of all, wonderful treats hidden in Grandpaw’s pocket and Grandma’s refrigerator.
Like MEAT! For our lunch, we got are usual plus the leftover meat from the fridge! Yummy! Yummy! Yummy! When Gretchen was preparing it, we were rapt with attention, especially Monty, who as I’ve said, loves visiting my grandparents.
But there were other delights as well. First, my Uncle Paul and Aunt Patti sent flowers for the celebration and the big, beautiful bouquet sat by the fireplace, which is exactly where Grandpaw likes to sit. Monty thought they were exquisite flowers both in appearance and in scent as well as a very fitting gift for such a momentous occasion.
When we first get to Grandma and Grandpaw’s house, we check out their backyard. It smells like raccoons and squirrels and the woods. I showed Monty one of my favorite spots which is up the stairs and in the underbrush of the big trees in their backyard.
As you can tell, my Grandparents have a really nice backyard and they are both quite the gardeners…and cooks!
That’s why we got leftovers because they cook all the time — especially Grandma — and they always have a little something leftover for when I come to visit. On Sunday, they had a little more because they knew I’d be bringing my best friend along with me.
Everything is wonderful at their house, not just the food and the outdoors. My Grandparents are very loving and they shared that love with Monty. They think he’s pretty special…and I do, too, so I don’t mind sharing my Grandparents with him.
So, Happy 60th Anniversary Grandma and Grandpaw! I’m glad you allowed me to share the special day with you!
Enough of celebrations…today we got back to business…and it was kind of a full day!
We started with an early morning walk — just Gretchen, Monty, and me. Gretchen headed off to work for a few hours and then returned to take Monty and me out with Oshi and Perrito. Monty was really excited to go because he thinks those little dogs are awfully cute.
Yeah, he’s right. They are very cute.
As you can see, the tennis courts were free today so we got to play some fetch, though it was kind of warm so in between the racing back and forth to get the ball, we also rested in the shade.
Oshi liked the shade most of all and really stretched out to take full advantage of the cool surface. Perrito, on the other hand, rested in the shade while chewing on his tennis ball.
Don’t get me wrong, they played. In fact, Oshi played, too, which is rare since he generally just wants to walk back home. Not today. Today he ran around a bit and then chased Perrito…
Of course, then there was Monty. He played fetch, but he also climbed up on the bench again and again, rolling his ball off the side and then chasing after it. Go figure!
Monty’s kind of a silly guy. We haven’t been to the tennis courts in awhile, but every time we go, he gets fixated on the bench. It’s like when we go to the lake and there are waves. Monty gets wildly lost in chasing the waves. In fact, the other night we walked by the lake and the waves were really crazy. Gretchen had to hold him back from diving off the bulkhead after those waves. He was mesmerized!
But today it was the bench. Unfortunately, we had to leave the tennis courts because tennis players showed up. That was okay. We needed to walk and cool off a bit, so homeward bound we went with Oshi in the lead.
After we dropped the boys off, Gretchen dropped us off at the house while she fetched Bella. Monty really likes Bella, but he needed to rest because he had to eat lunch (it’s a long story that some day I might explain). So Gretchen took Bella for a nice long walk and ended up at the tractor for the obligatory garden photo. It took a lot to get this photo, let me tell you!
Then they made their way back to the house where Bella was greeted by a very enthusiastic Monty. Gretchen didn’t get any photos of them together because Monty plays like a very big dog and Bella’s not so sure she’s ready for that. Instead, she pesters me…
Can you see me hiding in that second to the last shot? I was pretty tired and Bella just kept coming after me. At one point, I had to ask Gretchen for help!
Gretchen heard my plea and played with Bella while I rested on the porch. Whew!
Bella went home, though Gretchen reported back to me later that she did really well on her obedience because she was pretty tired from all the fun at our house! I was tired, too, but there was more work to be done. Gretchen went back to her classroom for awhile and Monty and I got a breather before she returned. This time she had Wilson in tow.
Monty met Wilson awhile back, but I think Wilson was a lot smaller. So when Wilson entered the house, Monty was a bit worried. It took him awhile to warm up to the big kid (Wilson, that is!). By the time we were ready for our walk, we were all getting along just fine!
Luckily, Ann arrived home just in time to join us as we headed over to the little field for a rousing game of fetch!
Monty and I had had a big day so we didn’t play as much fetch as Wilson did though Gretchen tells me Wilson went on a really long hike yesterday and even she was surprised how much he wanted to play! Not us…we needed a little time out from all the fun!
Wilson kept going and not to be outdone, Monty joined in every now and then!
In the business of being busy, the end result is that you’re a tired pup at the end of the, but it’s a happy, tired pup, which isn’t all that bad.
Until tomorrow,
Rubin
Even though my legs and paws feel as if we’ve walked (romped and run) to Florida and back, even though I can barely keep my eyes open tonight, even though every time I get up from lying down I feel as if my body is as stiff as wood, even though we walked almost all of our clients today — I can’t believe how lucky we are to be doing the work we’re doing. I mean, I get to hang out with some of the greatest dogs in Seattle. None of them are mean, none of them are outrageously disobedient, none of them growl at strangers or chase little children. Nope, these dogs (and their owners) are special and that makes me one lucky dog!
Our busy day started with a solo walk when Ann and I walked Gretchen to school for her morning of meetings. I spent the morning with Ann and when Gretchen got home, she brought with her Gemma and Monty — our first two “clients” of the day. If that wasn’t enough dogs, Ann came with us and fetched Oshi and Perrito from next door. Two women and five dogs made their way to the little field with our happy tails waving. At the field we played and played — Monty and I playing fetch, Gemma and Perrito chasing us, and Ann trying to get Oshi to do something other than pull her back home.
I know I should probably write more about each photograph, but frankly, it’s been a very long day and even though the above photos represent only the beginning of the day, you’ll see that by the end, I have every reason to be quite tired.
We took Oshi and Perrito home followed by Gemma. Monty spends Fridays with us and starting tomorrow, he’ll be staying with us for two weeks. See how lucky I am? My best friend gets a sleepover 24/7 for two weeks at my house!
Next up was Bella. Gretchen took me over to Bella’s house to pick her up. Monty got to stay home and rest (he is older, you know). Bella was thrilled to see me, but it probably wasn’t the best idea to bring me along since she has a hard time focusing on her obedience when I’m around. So Gretchen wrangled us over to the tennis courts so we could burn off some of Bella’s excited energy before we worked on her commands. Let’s just say, Bella has a lot of energy and most of it is released out of her ears!
Of course, she loves me and despite the fun I have, playing with Bella (much like playing with Gemma) takes a lot of energy on my part.
Bella has an interesting habit. She likes to stalk me. I chase after the ball, she gets really low to the ground and then springs up to jump on me. I hate to break the news to her that I can see her coming, but I’m a good boy and play along, acting surprised when she pops up.
Surprisingly, it didn’t take too much running around to get Bella to focus and that’s when Gretchen decided to work on her commands. Being
an older role model, I must perform the commands as well demonstrating to the younger dogs how to sit, lie down, and wait patiently.
When we first picked Bella up, there was no way she’d do any of these commands least of all wait, but after a nice play time at the tennis courts she was a bit more attentive. Though it might look like this photograph demonstrates a quiet and patient Bella, it took Gretchen about 5 minutes to get the shot. I’ll point out, not to sound arrogant or anything, I sat like this for the full 5 minutes until Gretchen finally got Bella to rest and look at something other than me.
Good girl, Bella!
After this, we worked on some more commands as we made our way through the park back to my house. I really wanted Bella to meet Monty because I know how much Monty likes girls. The two of them hit it off right away!
But Gretchen didn’t want two dogs at once to be too bit much for Bella, so she put Monty back in the house and Bella and I got to play together some more.
And once again, she stalked me while I played in the pool and I pretended I couldn’t see her and I acted very surprised!
Gretchen took Bella home and then Gretchen headed back to school for yet another meeting. Monty and I got to rest, but when Gretchen got home, we went on one more jaunt to the park to play some fetch. There we ran into Sydney, the neighbor’s dog who LOVES to play fetch, too. Monty and I were kind of tired so while we played a little fetch, we also rested and watched Sydney play by herself. She’s very, very fast!
Sydney eventually got tired, too and spent time posing for Gretchen’s camera and rolling around in the green, cool grass.
After this fun time at the park, we took Monty home (though we’ll pick him up again Saturday morning for our 2-week sleepover!) and Gretchen dropped me off at home as well. I’d had enough, she said, and even though she was tired, too, she visited the last dog of the day — Wilson. I wish I hadn’t been so tired because I would have liked to play with my young friend, but Gretchen made the right decision. As it turned out, Wilson was kind of tired, too, so they set out to the field to play fetch, then walked up to Bradner Gardens for an obligatory pose at the tractor, and then back down through the neighborhoods to Wilson’s house.
Yes, the day has been long, the week even longer, but when I look back, I realize that not every dog gets to do what I get to do…spend time with really fun dogs of all ages, breeds, and genders. I get to walk through different neighborhoods, smell all the pee-mail along the way, play in large open fields, and romp and wrestle with some very happy dogs.
My life is full, but in a good way. So when I rise up from this computer, I know I’ll feel my tired legs and stiff paws crackly and strain to support my weary body, but you know what?
It’s all good. Yep, it’s all super good!
Thanks to everyone — canine and human alike — who allow us to spend time together. We appreciate you very much and are extremely thankful you are in our lives.
I’m off to bed now, but here’s a wish that everyone has a wonderful weekend! I’ll be ready to go at it on Monday. Hope you will be, too!
Until then,
Rubin
Getting To Know YouI often write about how different dogs are from one another, but we also share some similarities. That may seem obvious to most humans, but it’s often hard to convince a dog that s/he is like another dog. I don’t spend too much time trying to persuade my canine friends of this, but I will offer up these observations.
Observation #1: Given a chance, we want to check each other out.
Evidence: Today, on the spur of the moment, Gretchen decided to pack Ollie, Gemma, and me into the car and head to Luther Burbank Dog Park. This was a real treat because, once again, it was hot and the park sits right on the edge of the lake so even if a dog doesn’t like to swim, s/he can at least take a dip and cool off.
But this does not prove my point. Once Gretchen lets us off the leash, the three of us race across the park to find out who else is in attendance. Today the park was packed with a wide variety of interesting dogs and each of us — those who came with Gretchen and those who were already at the park — gave a sniff and spin of greeting.
Observation #2: We find dogs who match our dog-analities.
Evidence: Ollie is a bouncy guy who raced across the park today to find a cute girl who was equally as bouncy. The two of them played together almost the entire time at the park and mimicked each other in their style of play. They were about the same size and certainly about the same amount of energy and within a matter of minutes, they were attracted to each other like kibbles and gravy.
Even dogs who are loners (like moi) spend some time checking out the other visitors. I, for instance, found a springer spaniel who enjoyed playing fetch in the water as much as I did. In fact, he kept stealing my ball. In the past, this would have driven me crazy and I would have barked at him like a mad man, but as I’ve matured, I’ve learned that the best way to deal with such a thief is to stare him down and when he’s not paying attention, steal my ball back.
I had to do this a lot yesterday because a lot of dogs like my orange and blue ball. And I’ll admit it: When I was younger and we ventured to dog parks, I’d sniff out the best possible toy and steal it from the older dogs. I’d never do it now, but I understand the desire. Perhaps that’s why I am a bit more patient about park thieves.
Observation #3: We like to observe.
Evidence: This may seem redundant (dog writing about observations makes the observation that we like to make observations), but if you look at the photographs from this morning’s adventure, you’ll see that even the busiest dogs (Gemma among them) stop, look, and observe the behavior of the other dogs.
Observation #4: When it’s time, we know when to spring into action.
Evidence: This may seem self explanatory, but dogs are very patient creatures. We get lots of practice, of course, waiting for our families to come home from work, to feed us, to play with us, to walk us, to pet us in that magic spot — but we also practice our patience with each other. Still, when it’s time to act, we act!
In the photograph to the left, Gemma illustrates the combination of two of the above observations. She stalked the spaniel and his white buoy, waited for her moment and then swooped into action and stole his buoy. He didn’t seem to mind, which, I suppose is another quality of dogs — we choose our battles wisely.
After the morning romp and splash at the park, we headed back to Seattle and dropped off a tired Ollie and an equally tired Gemma. I was tired, too, but I didn’t get much chance to rest. Gretchen dropped me off at the house while she walked over to get Bella. They went for a walk to the small park where Gretchen leashed Bella up on a long line and let her run around the park chasing a ball as well as her own shadow. Though she had the entire park in which to run, she stayed close to Gretchen and spent time smelling the grass and then rolling around in it.
Observation #5: We like to have our backs scratched.
Evidence: Humans are good people, but sometimes they don’t know the best way to please a dog. Yes, we like to have our ears scratched and our bellies rubbed, but a pat on the head isn’t always our favorite thing. Try it on yourself. Do you like it? Better yet, if given a choice would you like someone to massage your back or pat your head.
That’s what I thought. But because we are patient creatures, we allow you to pat us on the head (well, I don’t…I tend to back away) and we seek out other ways to get our back’s scratched. Bella, though she is young, has quickly learned that the best way to get her back scratched is to do it herself. She’s also learned that the best place to get a good rub is in a nice grassy park where one can kick up their paws to the sky and really get a nice scratch going.
Observation #6: When happy, we smile.
Evidence: See below…
After the park, Bella and Gretchen went on a walk where Bella got to practice her “heal” and “sit” and “wait” on the way back to our house. I’d had a bit of a rest, so I was very happy to see Ms. Bella when she arrived. She was happy to see me, too.
Observation #7: We are very adaptable.
Evidence: When I play with my friend Monty, we play as if we’re boxing. We stand up on our two hind legs and swat at each other again and again. Then we race around the yard in a game of wild chase. When I play with the neighbor dog, Lulu, we roll around on our backs and wrestle low to the ground. When I play with Gemma, she butts into me with her back end, nips at my back legs, and we spend a lot of time pushing each other around. If I weren’t adaptable, I’d have only one style of play, but I am adaptable so I’ve learned to play in the style of my friends.
Bella’s style of play, since she is young, is still developing…and yesterday we wrestled around, chased around, and eventually, because it was so hot, just rolled around in the cool grass.
As you can see, Bella is quite a contortionist. In fact, at one point, she was quite a clown — first standing over me and then rolling right over on the top of her head until finally, we just cuddled together in the lawn. Of course, it didn’t take us long to pop back up and play in a different style. Yes, we are adaptable… Check it out…
I have many more observations, but I think I’ve covered enough for today. We are interesting creatures and the more I explore the inner workings of a dog’s psyche, the more fascinating I find us to be.
Until tomorrow,
Rubin
Hey, Can I Get Some Cooler Weather?I’m not a complainer — well, unless there’s a ball involved — but generally, I’m a pretty affable fellow, but the weather we’re having these days is making me kind of grumpy.
Let’s just set the record straight — we live in Seattle, you know the city known for it’s cloudy skies and abundance of rain. This isn’t Phoenix or Miami or, dog forbid, Death Valley. This is Seattle. A few weeks ago we broke a record at 104 degrees and today, well today some claim we broke another at 90 degrees for a mid-August kind of day.
Do you know how hard that is on a dog? Well, let me tell you. First, we have to get up earlier than usual. Like any dog worth his kibble, I like to sleep in, but on hot days like this, Gretchen takes me out so early in the morning, I can barely see my paws in front of my face it’s so dark. Today, we walked with Monty first thing because he, like me, doesn’t like the hot weather. Then, as is our new schedule, Monty and I got a mid-morning nap while Gretchen went to school. When she returned, not only had the temperatures increased, but it was muggy hot — the worst kind of hot a dog can know.
We picked up Oshi and Perrito and the four of us moaned our way to the park. What did we do? We all laid down in the shade. Gretchen tried to play fetch with us, but not one of us was very interested. We all just stood, laid, or rolled around in the cool, shady grass.
Can you see that a whole lot of nothing was going on today?
I know, not a very eventful walk, but once we made it back home and had a cool drink of water, Gretchen decided it was best to keep us inside while she went to fetch Gemma. Now generally Gemma pays no attention to the heat, but today, apparently, she walked to all the shady spots and laid down. Even when she met Lizzie the Wheaton mix, she didn’t really show much interest in playing.
Apparently, Lizzie wasn’t that interested either. Instead, she just sat pretty and posed for Gretchen’s camera.
All the way on the walk, Gemma sought the shade and then laid down like it was just too much to keep going. That’s when Gretchen decided to bring her back to the house. And you know what she did? She went straight for the pool!
In fact, she kind of hogged the pool, spinning herself around until finally she’d plop right down not leaving a bit of room for me or Monty (though Monty wasn’t the least bit interested).
Of course, once she was cooled off, she was ready to rumble. I wasn’t so sure I was interested, but Gemma is very persuasive.
Monty hung out on the deck for awhile, but it was so hot he had to tip toe around because his feet got too hot. Finally, he asked to go inside where he rested in the hallway — the best breeze in the house! Meanwhile, Gemma went a little crazy, but not too crazy because it was too darn hot!
I shouldn’t complain too much, though. We’ve just returned from our friends’ pool (a big one, not a kid’s sized pool) and I got to take a dip, which felt gloriously wonderful. It’s still hot, though, and while tomorrow is going to be a tad bit cooler, I’m looking forward to the weekend when it’s supposed to rain.
Rain…that’s more like it!
Until then,
Rubin
You may think being a dog dog walker is an easy gig. It’s not and to illustrate the strenuous nature of my job, I thought it would be a good idea to post my job description. So here it is…in part…
1) Make clients feel included in all activities. This includes sharing my toys, nudging reluctant clients gently with my nose, and yes, imitating them when they run (see photo to the right). Some dogs are hesitant to be part of a pack be the pack just the two of us or more, though generally we never walk more than four dogs at a time. Other dogs are thrilled to be part of the pack and throw themselves into any playful fray that comes along. Gemma is such a gal. She wasn’t a scheduled client for today, but once again we ran into her at the park — “we” being Ollie and me. She could have cared less that she wasn’t on our schedule. She tossed herself into playing with us body and soul — and ears!
Ollie, who generally is more hesitant, actually got the romp-bug once he saw Gemma fly about the field and had a good time rustling and tussling with us this morning.
2) Despite your desires, resist the urge to appear like you don’t enjoy your work. For instance, I’m not a fan of a lot of dogs coming at me all at once, but as a dog dog walker, I have to act as if I think it’s the most fun ever. I think these photographs illustrate my point beautifully.
Notice, if you will, how I am showing how much I love my work AND making Ollie feel included…
3) Encourage clients to get to know each other and not always rely on you to entertain them.
4) Encourage your clients to pose in a variety of ways for the camera. That way when they are posted on the worldwide web (where millions of viewers observe them!) they can show off their best natures.
5) Learn to take advantage of your down time. When you aren’t working, rest. This was the case today. After the rowdy play time with Ollie and Gemma this morning, I rested while Gretchen took Bella for a walk and a romp at the tennis courts.
While Bella is getting her ya-yas out, I’m putting in some zzzzzzz’s. I knew, of course, what was coming after this and I needed to be prepared…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
6) Be prepared. This includes everything from changing weather conditions to puppies with a persistent need to play!
Today was our second day with Bella. While Gretchen took her for a nice walk (practicing all her commands) and played some at the tennis courts, Bella knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to come play with me.
I wanted to rest, but referring back to #2, as a dog dog walker, I must forgo my wishes and make my clients happy. Luckily today, happy meant pulling out the swimming pool and that, my friends, I am always prepared for!
Bella got in the pool, too but not with as much excitement or vigor as me. In fact, I think I scared her a bit with my enthusiasm so, moving onto my next responsibility…
7) Ease the worried dog through play!
(And this is by no means the last of my list, but it’s enough for today) — at the end of your time together, show them that it’s okay to be silly because it’s those fun and silly times that they’ll always remember!
Perhaps some day in the future, I’ll come back to my list, but for now, I think you’ve got the picture as to why I’m such a tired puppy at the end of the work day.
But hey, somebody’s gotta do it!
Until tomorrow,
Rubin