Wags n’ Words

Dog Walking & Pet Care – Seattle, WA

Monthly Archives: April 2010

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April 16, 2010

April 16, 2010 3:40 pm / Leave a Comment /

Pulling Toward Home

Most of the dogs we walk, though not all, know where I live. On occasion, we stop by our house with one dog in tow or another so we can get some water, Gretchen can use the bathroom, or to pick up more snacks or more poo bags. So when we get close to the house, most of the dogs who know where we live, pull like crazy to get at the front gate. They know that there is fun inside.

Oshi and Perrito, even though they live right next door, still race to our front gate even though they are on the leash and ready for their walk. Today, though, they didn’t get much of a walk until later in the afternoon because they had a grooming date up at Dog Mania with Liliana. We all piled in the car, with Perrito taking the front seat and Oshi in the back, and made our way up the hill where the boys were dropped off.

Next were Woobie and Monty, our first two official walks of the morning. Monty comes over all the time and Woobie has been here a fair amount as well. When both of them know we’re getting close (like we’re on the block) they start pulling just a bit and then take the turn right to the gate, smiling the whole time.

Today that walk to the gate came after a very long walk from Monty’s house to Woobie’s, from Woobie’s house down to Leschi School where we posed for these…

…and then through Frink Park, along the lake, and then finally, to the gate. I’ve been taught to wait for the front door to open and for Gretchen to enter before I’m given the go ahead to go in the house. Not Monty and Woobie. They bust through the door, race down the hall, and both put their nose in the water dish while surreptitiously checking to see if there are any crumbs in my breakfast bowl.

Today the three of us got to hang out at the house as well while Gretchen walked Gemma and Saber. She took the long line so the lovebirds could frolic at the park and frolic they did!

Gemma and Saber both know the way to my house and when they know they are headed there, they pull like a mule team and then both nose the front gate hoping to get in. But they didn’t walk over to our house today. Instead, they went for a nice walk after that heading up to the gardens and down over the hill. Both were panting tired when they got home. That’s partly because it was a warm day today. Yippeee, only it makes us all a bit tired.

Once Gemma and Saber went home, Gretchen came back and got us. We’d had a nice rest after our long morning excursion and now it was time to take Woobie home. So back up through the neighborhood we went and dropped a tired and happy Woobie at her house.

But Monty and I were not yet done. We had to head from Woobie’s house back to Dog Mania. It’s quite a hike, but a nice one at that. Once we arrived, we saw the newly groomed boys and of course, my frienemy, Liliana. That is to say, I love seeing her when she’s not in the store!

Home we headed with a stop at the boulder to show off the boys’ new haircuts. Monty thought Perrito smelled pretty!

On the way home, all of us turned slightly at our gate though Gretchen informed us we were going next door to drop off the boys first before we headed back into the house, which is where we are right now — resting comfortable after a busy, busy day.

Have a great weekend,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Monty, Oshi, Perrito, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Woobie / Tagged: , , , ,

April 15, 2010

April 15, 2010 2:34 pm / Leave a Comment /

Better Than…/Better Then…

Gretchen gave her students a lesson today and I listened. It was on the difference between then and than. (She also had to give a spelling lesson on the difference between were and where…”Where’s the ‘h’?” she asked her students to help them remember that “where” has an “h” and “were” does not, but I liked the than/then discussion more.)

So, it goes something like this: “Then” has many definitions but is often based on time though not always. “It will happen then…” “Then, when I was a year old, I was crazy…” “If I don’t wear my raincoat, then it will rain…” or “I will meet you then. Do you want to synchronize our watches?”

Other uses of “then” are: “We could go to the dog park and then the pet store…” “If you want to visit your friends, then you’ll need to finish your breakfast…” or “I took a nap, then worked on my dog blog…”

“Than” is not based on a place in time. Rather it’s used for comparisons. “I’d rather be swimming in the lake than resting at home…” “I’d rather have a treat from your pocket than have to wait until meal time…” or “That dog is bigger than you.”

All day long, I kept thinking about than/then and found myself reflecting on the day from these two very different perspectives. For instance, on the way home from school I thought, “I can take a nap and then have a drink of water…” or “Better a nap than a drink of water.” See how it makes everything kind of different.

I did go home after school while Gretchen walked Rosie. They had a few than/then moments. “If we put on your raincoat,” Gretchen told Rosie, “then if it rains you won’t get wet.”

“I’d rather eat cookies,” Rosie replied, “than put on that raincoat.” (Note the anticipatory treat drool in the second photo!)

On their walk, they came upon numerous dogs. This is always a challenge for Rosie because she gets overexcited and sometimes a bit aggressive, but that was then (get it) and today she did really well.

“There’s a dog running off leash over there,” Rosie noticed from afar. “If we go by them then I can show you how much better I am at being around other dogs.”

“Better that you’re friendly with strange dogs,” reminded Gretchen, “than upset because sometimes it doesn’t pay for you to be upset!”

Rosie agreed and every time they came upon a new dog, Rosie did better then she’s ever done before. Better today than yesterday! Or is it “then yesterday?” Yikes!

Despite the raincoat, it didn’t rain on them. Nope, the rain waited and then when it came, it came down hard, fast, and for a short period. I’d rather have that kind of rain than the kind that goes all day long!

After Rosie, Gretchen came to pick me up and we hopped in the car to go visit Zoe. I was still a little nervous, but I did a much better job greeting Zoe (then last time or than last time? Hmmmm? It’s still kind of confusing). Because we only had three dogs to walk today, everyone (including Rosie) got a little bit longer walk. Today, Zoe and I headed down to Genessee Meadow. I love the Meadow. It’s a big open field with a wetland right in the middle of it. When Gretchen and I go by ourselves, I sometimes get taken off the leash to play fetch or to run along the trails that meander throughout wetlands.

I was so hoping that would happen today and apparently Zoe was too. Since she’s still recovering from her knee surgery, she’s not allowed to run free, but boy did she try. First we walked around the Meadow, then we posed for photos (see, I’m a lot closer to the big girl this time). And then, we walked across the Meadow and both Zoe and I, extended at the end of our flexi-leashes, decided we wanted to romp. She went into a play bow, gave a big woof, and then I did the same.

“No, no, no,” Gretchen warned. “Zoe can’t play like that! Not yet, Rubin.” Bummer because you know what, I’d rather romp with Zoe than have to pose politely for pictures side by side. I mean, you’ve got to admit, she’s a cute girl, isn’t she?

But we behaved ourselves, though Zoe didn’t behave as well as I did. She really wants to play and who can blame her. Knee surgery has a long recovery and I bet she misses romping around like the puppy she is. She’ll heal up soon enough and THEN we can play!

Zoe happily went home and I looked forward to next week when I get to see her again. Then we were off to Saber’s house and that’s when the rain came down. Saber didn’t care and neither did I. That’s because we thought the tennis courts would be free, but guess what? They weren’t. People were playing tennis in the rain!  I guess they’re the kind of people who would say, “I’d rather play tennis in the rain than work at the office!”

So Saber and I went for a walk, down through the tunnel, then up through Colman Pea Patch where we posed by the bluebells and I practiced looking a little soggy.

Saber decided the fresh, tall grass looked mighty tasty so he started chowing down. Silly guy.

We made our way back over the hill, walked by those courts again and struck it lucky. They were empty. Wet, but empty. And so we played. I must say, I’d rather play on wet tennis courts than not play at all. I think Saber feels the same way.

We pretty much dried off by the time we took Saber home and then I got a special treat — I got to play fetch by myself in the little field. Better that than going home, I say.

And best of all, Gretchen kept her camera in her backpack. Not that I don’t mind all the photos — they really help me with this dog blog — but sometimes it’s more fun to play than mix it with work. You know what I mean?

I’m pretty sure I have this than/then thing down, though I still really have to think about it. Human language is so complicated. I mean, dogs have one word “woof” and it means lots and lots of things, but none of them are as confusing as than and then. Trust me.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Zoe / Tagged: , , , ,

April 14, 2010

April 14, 2010 4:02 pm / Leave a Comment /

Acclimatize

I learned a new word today – “acclimatize.” It means “to get used to” — a short definition for such a long word, but humans like to do that I’ve noticed. Today we practiced acclimatizing, something we haven’t had to do for awhile because today was warm. Not super warm, but warm enough to make our tongues hang out, as Monty and Saber demonstrate to the right.

It certainly hasn’t been a cold winter, but April hasn’t exactly been warm either. I mean, just a few weeks ago we had some snow and temperatures dipping just below freezing. But today, the sun came out like it’s supposed this time of year and we could feel it.

…even Gretchen who smartly wore shorts, but still got hot with a long-sleeved shirt on.

We got hot, too. True, I’m getting close to needing my haircut (though I’m hoping it gets put off for awhile) and that can make me warm up faster than usual, but we definitely felt the warmth today. Definitely.

Rosie is particularly sensitive to the heat, which I find interesting since her hair is so short. If she had long hair like me, she’d really be hurting. So today, on their walk, Rosie and Gretchen went at a slower-than-usual pace and stopped to rest in the shade.

At one point, Rosie saw a bunch of tree branches down (someone has recently pruned their evergreens) and she all but climbed into the shady cave the branches created, but Gretchen stopped her. “But why?” asked Rosie to which Gretchen didn’t really have an answer.

Oshi and Perrito go to the groomer on Friday, but for now, their hair is long and therefore they get hot. They were happy to be out in the sun, but as they went through the park, both dogs raced ahead so they could play around in the cool, long grass.

Perrito played with the orange and blue ball while Oshi rolled around and around rubbing his warm body on the cool grass.

Saber is a big dog (if you didn’t know that already) and while his hair is thick, he apparently has an undercoat (something Monty and I don’t have) so he has a built in cooling system. I’m a bit envious. He doesn’t have to go to the groomer as much either. I’m now officially jealous. Saber was happy the sun was shining and equally happy that he got to play at the tennis courts (which were surprisingly NOT occupied by tennis players on this nice, sunny day). While Monty and I tired out rather quickly, Saber did not and proved it by stealing the yellow ball (which we rarely play with) from me every chance he got!

Meanwhile, Monty rested on his bench. He hasn’t done that for awhile, but maybe the airflow under the bench cools off his warm belly. Hard to say. Saber thought he was pretty silly though and while I kept hoping Saber would steal Monty’s ball, he was more interested in the one I wanted to play with. Isn’t that always the case. Gretchen says it’s “instant karma” because as a puppy, I always stole everybody’s toys. In fact, I still do steal some of Monty’s toys, but I think that’s a whole different set of circumstances. Don’t you?

Because we tired out quickly and were not quite acclimatized to the warmth, Gretchen took us for a nice long walk whereupon we found water dishes from which to drink. Ah, that was nice.

Saber went home and Gretchen had planned on taking Monty and me out for a game of fetch, but she could tell we were both pretty tired and as much in need of rest as we were in need of a water. So home we went and after said water, we rested in the sun on the porch.

Eventually we went for that game of fetch, though we didn’t play too long. Just enough to get us panting and then we walked Monty home. While he was sad to see us go, he raced up the stairs of his house in search of more water and a nice comfy place to rest his acclimatizing body.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Monty, Oshi, Perrito, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News / Tagged: , , , ,

April 13, 2010

April 13, 2010 3:43 pm / Leave a Comment /

Forgetful

Gretchen and I are having a debate. She says dogs are forgetful like humans and I say we are not. Yes, I agree that humans are forgetful. Sometimes Gretchen forgets her keys, sometimes she forgets to take out the garbage, and every once in awhile, she forgets that I need feeding.

She’s not a very forgetful person, but on occasion she can forget simple things and no matter how much I try to remind her, things just slip her mind.

Dogs do not forget. It’s simply impossible for us to forget. Here is my evidence:

The other day, when I had to go to the vet to get my vaccination, I walked behind Gretchen (I really don’t like going to the vet) through the front door. Well, the door closes quicker than most doors and I got caught in it. I yelped, Gretchen yelped (and apologized) and I was rescued. I saw the vet, I received my vaccination as well as got weighed AND have my temperature taken (yikes!) and then Gretchen paid before we left. We walked to the door. I refused to move forward. Gretchen remembered: “Oh the door! It’s okay, Rubin. I’ll make certain it doesn’t close on you.”

I did not forget about the quick closing door. Gretchen did.

Rosie, Gretchen’s first walk of the day, never forgets anything. This is probably why she is a bit skittish because she knows the sound of every truck means the ground will rumble, she knows the silhouette of a cat, and she knows that Gretchen’s left pocket contains treats.

The more Rosie gets to know Gretchen, the more she remembers all the commands Gretchen’s taught her. Lately, she’s been working on the “wait” or “stay” command so that Gretchen can step back and get photos of Rosie whether she’s standing above the park or in front of the beautiful spring flowers.

Rosie does not forget that she is always rewarded for sitting and staying.

When I was a puppy, a large dog at the off-leash park chased me so ferociously, I got scared. To this day I have not forgotten and when I see a big dog — especially one I do not know or who has black fur — I get very nervous. Well today, Gretchen informed me that I would be meeting Zoe — a large dog with black fur. “Rubin,” Gretchen said, “Don’t be afraid, okay? Zoe is as sweet as pie.”

But sometimes, because I always remember, it’s hard to forget. So when I first met Zoe I was scared. I whined and barked nervously. Zoe got excited and barked as well, but she wasn’t nervous. She just wanted to meet me and smell me. I’m not big on the smelling part. Well, not at first. I like to walk with a new dog first before I allow them to smell me, but Zoe is big and strong and yes, very kind and sweet, and she really wanted to smell me so I had to growl at her a bit.

Someone must have growled at Zoe before because she backed off and that made me like her instantly. I liked her all the more as we walked through her neighborhood and down to the big park where we sat obediently for photos.

For the first part of the journey, we walked on opposite sides of Gretchen, but on the way back from the park, we walked side by side.

See? I might not be able to forget about being attacked by a big black dog, but I at least remember that Zoe was not that dog.

And a new friend is something ALWAYS to remember.

Gemma never forgets the dog who lives on the corner, across from her house or the dog who lives on the other corner who barks from inside the house. Gemma never forgets about Tess the loud German Shepard who barks at us from behind the fence (and Gemma always barks back) and she never, ever forgets the route to Saber’s house.

Saber never forgets a routine. When Gretchen lets him out of his crate, he obediently sits by the door and waits for his collar and leash to get put on. He hates the nose collar he must wear (to keep him from pulling), but he never forgets to be a good boy and let Gretchen put it on him.

And neither of them forget the fun they have at the tennis courts.

I don’t either!

Playa has learned the sound of Gretchen’s car. Since she waits outside on nice days, when she hears Gretchen’s car pull up, she smiles big and wide. When Ollie knows Gretchen’s coming in the door, he bounces up like only Ollie can do. Neither of them can forget Gretchen and what she represents.

Of course, Doodles would like to forget all about going on a walk with Gretchen, but he can’t. He’s still pretty nervous (even though he wags his tail) about getting leashed up for a walk so today, he didn’t go with Ollie and Playa. Maybe he does forget how much fun he has on the walk?

Wait, I’m trying to prove that dogs don’t forget so I’m not going to explore that idea.

Ollie is another dog who doesn’t forget about the treats in Gretchen’s pocket and until today, Playa hasn’t shown the least bit interest in a treat.

Today, though, she was very interested and practiced sitting and waiting to earn said treats.

She also never forgets to pee. According to Gretchen, Playa pees a river every time they go on a walk. I tried to explain to Gretchen that it’s imperative for dogs to never forget to pee!

Now, I could list all the ways humans forget, but when Gretchen brought home this photo, I asked her what it was. “It’s a pea patch made under the power lines.”

“Why did you take a photo of it?” I asked.

“I just thought it was cool that people are using the land this way.”

Oh, I thought, that’s another thing people forget — they forget about the land and how important it is. They forget about the animals and how important they are. They forget about the water and how important it is. They forget about the beauty of nature.

Okay, not all the time, but we’re surprised by how many people forget that there are other things in life besides people. Gretchen says that’s one of the reasons she wants me to write this blog — to remind all the forgetful people that we exist.

You may ask yourself, “Hey, I thought you said dogs live in the now? How can they live in the now and never forget?

That’s a great question, but I’m going to end the blog for today and get back to that question perhaps tomorrow.

Unless I forget (tee hee!)

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Ollie, Playa, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Zoe / Tagged: , , , ,

April 12, 2010

April 12, 2010 7:09 pm / Leave a Comment /

Pacing

We all walk at different speeds. Gretchen walks fast so I’ve learned to keep up. Tethered to her as I am for most of the day, if I don’t keep up I get a bit yanked and that’s never any fun. There are times she lets me meander and when it’s the weekend, I get to wander at my own leisure, but during work hours, we hoof it…or paw it, whichever the case may be.

But not all our clients have the same vigorous approach to walking. Nope, each client has his or her own unique pace, which can make for an interesting day.

And yes, the dog to the right is a new, short-term client. Her name is Zoe and I have yet to meet her, but apparently Zoe is so loving and kind, I’m going to go on a walk with her tomorrow.

But before I tell you more about Zoe and her walking pace, let’s start at the very beginning (a very good place to start…for those of you are familiar with a certain musical!).

It began with an alarm. 5:50 this morning the radio came on and I must admit, I covered my eyes with my paws. We’ve been on Spring Break and while we certainly woke early, we didn’t wake as early as we did this morning. I groaned. I knew what was coming. We were going back to school.

Not that that’s a bad thing. I actually was kind of excited about it, but when the alarm went off, I realized what my excitement cost me — it cost me the chance to sleep in! But up I got and the day began. Breakfast, a walk, and then what do you know, I was in the classroom greeting the students who really missed me.

We’re starting a new book in class and so I laid under the desk of one tired student (for I was tired, too) and listened to the story with interest. As a dog-writer, I’m always curious as to how other writers put a story together and this one I kind of like. It has spunk. Not sure if my stories have spunk, but maybe that’s a technique I should work on!

After the story, Gretchen took me home. I was happy about that because I needed a nap after getting up so early. She headed off to see Rosie and Tyson who, much like a well told story, had spunk! They’d had a canine weekend visitor, Kazi, and apparently the sleep over put the two siblings in a good mood. Hard to tell from the photos, but they walked briskly along the ridge and to the Bradner Gardens.

Normally, when Rosie and Tyson walk together it’s always a little brisk. Tyson is always on the look out and Rosie is always watching Tyson. When Gretchen walks Rosie by herself, the walk is never as brisk because Rosie LOVES to stop and smell and leave a little mark. But when Tyson is around, Rosie is more interested in whatever Tyson is interested in and that boy is mostly interested in getting a move on!

Of course, it’s always funny to see who walks fast or slow and when they move fast or slow. Rosie usually walks slowly at the start of a walk and then walks much more energetically when she’s heading home. Tyson walks a steady pace, unless he sees a cat, and then all bets are off. He stares and fixates and Gretchen does her best to distract him with a treat.

Now since I haven’t walked with Zoe, I have to rely on Gretchen’s observations. First you should know that Zoe had knee surgery. She normally goes with our friend, Maureen of Mo’s Dog Walking in her van to the dog park and there Zoe gets to run and romp at any old pace she pleases. But because of the healing knee, Zoe has to be on leash walks for awhile and that’s why we are walking her (thanks for the referral, Maureen!).

Zoe is apparently a happy dog. She was thrilled when Gretchen showed up today and waited patiently while Gretchen leashed her up. And off they went. At first Gretchen thought Zoe was going to be a rapid walker pulling her large though shapely Bernese Mountain dog body down the road. But Zoe was very respectful on the leash and while she trotted up ahead on occasion, she mostly sauntered right beside Gretchen and then stopped to sniff and smell the trail at her feet.

She sniffed and smelled a lot, but since Gretchen is just getting to know her, she thought she’d let Zoe set the pace. Eventually, Zoe got into the walk and while she wasn’t brisk, she certainly did a good job keeping up with Gretchen who wasn’t in full-throttle, but wasn’t moseying along either.

And Zoe LOVED having her picture taken. Gretchen laughed every time she tried to get a photo of Ms. Zoe, which made Zoe laugh and she’d toss back her head just slightly making almost every picture have a bit of a head tilt. Apparently, it was quite comical.

Zoe, it appears, was involved in some family painting, though for she had flecks of paint on her head, tail, and parts of her body. I think Zoe likes to be involved with whatever is happening, but I’ll find out more tomorrow when I meet her. I wonder how fast she’ll walk when I’m there?

After Zoe, Gretchen came to pick me up and we walked over to Gemma’s house. Now Gemma’s pace, as you might imagine, is frenetic. She only walks in a straight line if there’s a squirrel, the possibility of meeting another dog, or if we are a block from Saber’s house. All the rest of the time, she zig-zags and spins putting callouses on Gretchen’s hands and making me dizzy.

And she weaves…back and forth, back and forth trying to scope out every possibility before her. When we round the corner to Saber’s house, she stops weaving and pulls like a 20-mule team to get to Saber’s house. That’s exactly what she did today and Gretchen and I just looked at each other and rolled our eyes. True love. What are you gonna do?

Now the distance between Saber’s house and the tennis courts is maybe two blocks and yet when those two lovebirds see each other, it takes us about four blocks of weaving and zig-zagging to get there. They constantly bump into each other and Gemma, as only Gemma can do, grabs at Saber’s neck and then slams her back end up against him in an interesting invitation to play.

The game continues at the tennis courts.

It’s not that I get jealous, but I like to be involved in the playing as well and at times, those two can be so involved with each other they forget about me, so I do my best to make my presence known!

After some vigorous play time, the walk can commence with only a few bumps and nibbles along the way. Today Gretchen had Saber and Gemma walking side-by-side and let me tell you that was a workout for everyone!

We hopped in the car after that and headed over to Alice’s house. Alice was again happy to see me and since she’s getting to know her new neighborhood, we ventured off in a different direction than last week. I love getting to smell around a new neighborhood and today both Alice I had our noses to the ground. Of course, that’s nothing new for Alice. She LOVES to sniff and she pulls her body sideways on the end of the leash to make certain she can gather up all the scents before her.

We made our way down by the elementary school and then up a long, long, long set of stairs. Gretchen posed us there to try to illustrate the climb, but both Alice and I wanted to get back to the work of documenting the new neighborhood with our noses.

So up the stairs we climbed and then along the boulevard where Gretchen had walked with Zoe earlier in the day. How do I know that? I could smell them!

Once again we had our photo taken, but soon enough we were on our way sniffing out the path down past the pet store (it was closed for the day) and the coffee shop back home to Alice’s house.

The final walk of the day was with Oshi and Perrito. They were happy to see us and we noticed that they had on their old harnesses. Their new ones, if you remember, kept them from pulling, which I guess is a good thing except that Gretchen had to pull them instead. Since the point of our work is to exercise the clients, we were kind of happy to see the old harnesses on and Oshi and Perrito didn’t let us down — they raced out ahead as we made our way up the street and over to the park.

I overheard Gretchen on the phone the other day with Oshi and Perrito’s mother. Apparently they’re do for a grooming. Ya think?

Does it seem like Monday was a bit busier than usual? Yes, it was but I kind of liked the changes — it made for an interesting day and it was fun to see how every handled the paces!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Alice, Gemma, Oshi, Perrito, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Tyson, Zoe / Tagged: , , , ,

April 9, 2010

April 10, 2010 7:49 am / Leave a Comment /

Walking the Seam

The sky was divided today. A seam ran right down the middle of it and on either side was a completely different kind of feeling.

Photography is interesting. We try to capture our day in the photos and then I do my best to embellish with words, but sometimes the pictures fall short and yes, sometimes my words do, too. When I look at the photographs Gretchen took today I can feel the fun we had and the adventures we took, but I’m not sure the photos capture the amazing seam in the sky.

We woke early this morning and looked out of the kitchen window to a dark and foreboding sky. Our first thought was that it was going rain like the dickens and that we’d have to really bundle up because the thermometer was barely nudging 40 degrees.

As the sun rose in the east, that dark and foreboding sky proved to be a bank of flat clouds stretched from west to east as far as our eyes could see. I turned to Gretchen at that point and said, “Whoa!” She concurred and we did our best to pack up for what we assumed would be a blustery and miserable day.

Luckily, we didn’t have to go out right away. Gretchen had some errands to run (I assisted) and some work to do at the computer, but as we watched the sky lighten up, that bank of foreboding flat clouds never moved. It was as if someone had taken a huge piece of gray paper, licked the back, and just stuck it up on the sky. Half of the sky looked like this…

And the other half looked like this…

We walked the seam…right between the middle of these two worlds. It was amazing, but at the same time eerie. Slowly, ever so slowly, the gray moved on and the blue warmed us up as the day passed. That was nice. Right now, it’s sunny and much warmer with those big puffy clouds floating by every now and then. They say spring will really arrive this weekend, but with the mish-mash of weather we’ve had of late, I don’t think I trust the forecasts.

The official work day started with Rosie and Tyson. That seam sat high above their house and Gretchen contemplated making the siblings wear their raincoats just in cast the skies opened up with rain or as a way to keep them warm. But she took her chances and what do you know? It never rained and the temperatures warmed just a bit.

Just to make certain everyone stayed warm, all three went to the tennis courts to play fetch. While they were there, Rosie furrowed her brow worried about the seam in the sky and Tyson looked up in contemplation furrowing his brow even more.

But neither of them worried for too long. They played. Tyson after his ball and for treats…

And Rosie romped around picking up treats Gretchen scattered all around…

The seam sat above them and while it threatened rain and it looks like it had rained earlier (based on the puddles on the courts), that flat cloud pasted on the sky never moved. The seam held and everyone was happy about it…

…most of all Rosie and Tyson. Good weather means a treat, right?

The three of them ended their time together with a nice walk through the park right along the seam. But they were happy, as they always are, to be back home in their warm and comfy house and even more thankful that the sky cooperated.

Gretchen came back to get me after Rosie and Tyson and we walked over to Oshi and Perrito’s house, one door away. Lately, the neighbor cat has been hanging out on their porch whining to get in. Orondo. He does that often. He likes to hang out with the boys and they like it too. I’m not much of a cat dog and when I see Orondo, I want to eat him. Gretchen cautiously approached the porch searching for Orondo, but he was no where to be found. She leashed up the boys and off we went, zig-zagging the seam once again.

Oshi and Perrito got new harnesses that instead of having the leash hook between their shoulders, it now hooks on their chest. It’s to keep them from pulling, which worked, but for Oshi it was torture. Instead of Oshi pulling us, Gretchen had to pull him along as he was reluctant to move forward with the leash at the front. It made for an interesting walk!

But we made it even though Gretchen posed us on the bench right on the borderline of the seam — between dark clouds and blue skies. We were a bit cautious about our positioning.

Once Oshi and Perrito went home, we walked over to pick up Saber. By this time, the seam was starting to unravel and the blue skies were winning. As we headed to the tennis courts, Saber was as happy as I was to feel the warm sun on our backs as we played. First we played with the orange and blue balls…

At one point, Saber tried to figure out how to pick up two balls, but lucky for me, he hasn’t yet mastered that!

…but then I found a stick and I LOVE sticks as you can see! Saber does, too.

We walked after that, down through the tunnel and then south towards the park, but right before the Frink Park, we headed up the steep hills to see if Olive and her mom, Laurie were home. No deal, but still we posed in their front yard though I wasn’t the least bit interested in getting close to the thing Gretchen kept calling a duck, but I think it was a goose. It didn’t smell like a duck or a goose at all!

Instead, Saber posed…

…and I rolled around in the cool, freshly groomed lawn. Ahhhhh.

Saber went home tired and content and the seam went home too. I thought our day was over, but then we met up with Monty and his mom, Colleen for a game of fetch. Colleen had the day off so while Fridays are usually days we take care of Monty, we got a special treat just hanging out with Monty AND his mom. Of course, Colleen wouldn’t let us take her photo, but Monty was all smiles.

The evening promises more adventures. I’m not sure exactly what, but I know I got combed out (yuck!) and a bath (double yuck) and I heard tale of trip to Argo’s house? Really?

Have a great (and warm) weekend! Watch out for seams!

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Monty, Oshi, Perrito, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Tyson / Tagged: , , , ,

April 8, 2010

April 8, 2010 4:19 pm / Leave a Comment /

Ominous

I just wrote this nice post about how I like the word ominous because it sounds like what it is and then when I hit “publish” the whole thing disappeared. Now I must try to recreate it.

This sucks.

Or it’s ominous.

Okay, here we go. Sorry I don’t have as much time or as much energy to do it exactly the same way. I hope you’ll forgive me.

It rain a bit. It hailed a bit. And I swear we had snow today. One minute we’re walking under a blue sky with white puffy clouds watch our shadows walk along with us and the next it’s gray clouds and like large grains of salt falling on us. Weird. We even went up to the ridge today to see if we can capture the ominousness of it all (hey, is that a word?).

But the day started out beautiful and I even got a nice surprise. Usually we pick Woobie up on Thursdays later in the afternoon, but since we’re on spring break, we fetched her earlier and kept her with us for half the day. “You deserve time with your buddy, Woobie,” Gretchen told me and all I could do was wag my tail and smile!

We all went for a walk and then ended up playing some fetch. Well, I played fetch and Woobie sat in the sun looking beautiful.

Occasionally she ran after me or alongside of me, but Woobie’s not as into fetch as I am.

We rested back at the house, while Gretchen took Rosie out for a walk. Rosie was full of spirits too, ready to frisk around the second they got out the door. Of course, when Gretchen posed her in the sun, she wasn’t that happy about it, but later was thrilled when the jogged a bit and played Rosie’s mini version of fetch the treat!

Next up was Gemma who is always frisky and always thrilled to be out on a walk. They came by our house and picked us up, which thrilled Gemma even more. She likes Woobie as much as I do. Everyone likes Woobie as a matter of fact and it’s a good thing Woobie enjoys the adulation.

We walked Woobie home the long way and then Gemma and I hiked back down to her house the other long way (too complicated to explain!). The final walk of the day was Saber and if anyone is enthusiastic about an adventure, it’s Mr. Exuberance! We headed over to the tennis courts to burn off a little excess energy…

…and then up to the ridge to check out the weather (first photo).

We practiced the rest of the walk without Saber having to wear his nose collar, for which he was very thankful. He did pretty well, too! But once he went home, our day wasn’t over. I had to go to the vet, but not because I was sick or anything — just to get my vaccinations updated. That’s always fun! (Sarcasm intended!)

Now it’s raining. Big huge drops on the back porch. I wonder if it will snow tonight? I’m sort of hoping it does, but then again, warm weather might mean I can go swimming in the lake. Hm, hard to decide.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Woobie / Tagged: , , , ,

April 7, 2010

April 7, 2010 3:27 pm / Leave a Comment /

A Candid Discussion About Poo

America’s 71 million dogs produce 29,000 tons of waste each day.

We pick up a lot of poo during our work day. Not just the poo we’ve made, but also that left by others. We got through a lot of bags — sometimes a roll in a day — and throw a lot of that poo in garbage cans we find along the way.

While I was surfing the web last night, I found out some interesting facts about dog poo and what happens to it (like the fact above). I know you might think it’s not very interesting or, in fact, a bit gross, but a student at Gretchen’s school got me to thinking about all the poo and where it goes. Here’s some of what I found out:

A study by city of San Francisco has shown that  dog poop occupies 3.4% of residential landfills.

Storm water carries dog poop and other dog waste directly into waterways. Pet waste is responsible for up to 90% of all bacterial watershed pollution in urban areas of the U.S. (Think of Puget Sound!)

Dog poop has a lot of nitrogen and adding nitrogen to our water depletes the oxygen needed for fish and  wildlife. (Oxygen depletion is one of the major causes of “dead zones” like the kind we’re seeing in Puget Sound and on the Hood Canal.)

Plastic bags or even biodegradable bags when thrown in an air tight landfill would overcrowd our land and not biodegrade.

E. coli, Giardia, Salmonella live inside dog poop and are dangerous to babies, humans and other animals when they enter our water system.

Roundworms and hookworms are also common in dog poop. These parasites are dangerous too when we contact them in soil.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 2 days worth of dog waste from about 100 dogs would contribute enough pollution to close a bay, and all watershed areas within 20 miles of it.

Dog waste is 75% water and can be recycled.

Remaining 25% of dog waste can be used as fertilizer for non-food crops.

(More information can be found at this website!)

Amazing, isn’t it? It made me think all day about poo. We like to think of ourselves as environmentally conscious and we work on it every day — picking up other dogs’ poo is just one way we try to help. We’ve tried to use “biodegradable” bags, but the bags we like to use we’ve just learned are no longer considered biodegradable.

So we picked up some others that claim to be 100% biodegradable only about every fourth bag has a whole in it and frankly, Gretchen doesn’t like that much. I wouldn’t either. In my search last night on the internet, I came across this blog that says that now they’ve got flushable dog bags — as in dog bags that can be flushed down the toilet.

Cool, I thought, but then Gretchen informed me that it would be really hard to pick up all the poo we pick up and carry it back to the house.

“Do you want to wear a doggy backpack and help me carry it all to the toilet?”

Not really.

“And,” she added, “What about all that flushing? I worry that it might be a waste of water because the water they use in our toilets is good enough to drink and do you know how many people don’t have fresh water to drink every day?”

“Almost a billion?” I took a stab at it.

“Yes, you’re exactly right. What a smart dog you are!”

So today I was thinking about poo and how there’s no easy answers when trying to save the planet. We do our best to pick up all the poo we see out there so it doesn’t end up in the Sound, but sometimes I wish we could do more. Gretchen says that just by writing about it on my blog I’m educating people, but I’d sure like to do more.

Until I think of something more to do (doo doo?) we’ll keep using the 100% biodegradable bags (and watch for holes) and encourage all of you to do the same. And please, pick up the poo even if your dog didn’t do it. Maybe if we tell 10 other dog owners they can tell 10 more and soon all the poo will be picked up. Maybe then we can work on a way to flush it all away.

Yes, we walked dogs today (as you can see from some of the photos), but a quick run down.

Monty and me in the morning — spring break is great because we started earlier and walked longer. Love it! I call it my sacred time with Monty and refuse to let Gretchen take any photos of us. So far she’s obliged me.

Rosie was next and she and Gretchen went in search of great views and beautiful flowers. They’re out there!

Oshi and Perrito went in search of tall grass, which Perrito loved to push his ball around in and Oshi just wondered when they’d get to be back on the pavement!

Monty and I got to play with Saber first at the tennis courts where everyone got into the romp…

…and then on a walk down by the lake and through Frink Park where we tried to pose but some of us looked off in the distance while others tried to rub their nose collar off. Took awhile to get one nice photo of all the Three Amigos!

We rested at home while Gretchen made up some more dog food for me (yes, I’m spoiled and get the best homemade dog food ever!). She also threw together some power bars (for humans) and made an Italian chicken dinner with cannellini beans for her (and Ann’s) dinner. Amazing. It makes me even more tired to think about it all.

Oh and Monty and I got another walk in the rainy afternoon. No photos during that sacred time either, but we did pick up seven bags of dog poo — none of it came from us!

Think about it!

Rubin

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Posted in: Monty, Oshi, Perrito, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News / Tagged: , , , ,

April 6, 2010

April 6, 2010 6:29 pm / Leave a Comment /

Pedestrians

I dream of world where people can walk freely, where cars stop whenever someone approaches a crosswalk. I dream of a world where dogs don’t have to look both ways and where people drive at reasonable speeds. I dream of a time when bicycles and pedestrians have the right away and cars have to watch out for danger.

No, nothing bad happened today, but man oh man, are we tired of speeding cars, red-light running autos, and people driving while talking and texting on their cell phones. Every venture across the street requires the utmost diligence and caution.

But I shall not dwell on the negative. Today was a great day because 1) it didn’t rain and 2) we made it home (and all our clients did as well) safely.

First up was Rosie. Rosie is very wary of loud cars and trucks so she’s cautious by nature. (I dream of a day when Rosie can walk without loud sounds following her footsteps or making her jump and spin in fright!). They went for their walk down through the park, around by the school, and then stopped by the sculpture for some photos and some practice on sit, stay, and down. Notice how tentatively held that down is!

Next up was Gemma who was spinning and twirling and raring to go. She came by to pick me up and together we headed over to Saber’s house. Let the love fest begin! (I dream of a time when lovebirds can romp freely in the open field without fear of racing out into oncoming traffic that hasn’t a clue that dogs are playing!)

I tried to get into the act, but those two never stand still long enough to even notice me. Well, sometimes Saber does and occasionally Gemma, and even more occasionally they both stop to catch their breath, but let me tell you, for the 15 minutes on the court (before our walk) it’s full throttle puppy play!

Everyone went home tired and ready to rest including me. Gretchen was glad because she had to head south to pick up Ollie and Playa? Where’s Doodles you ask? Well, apparently no human was at home so up the stairs he ran and hid under the bed. No walk for Doodles! But Playa and Ollie were more than willing to jump in the car and head to the tennis courts for some fetch! (I dream of a time when Doodles realizes that walks are fun especially since where they walk there are no cars, though yes, they must take a car to get there.)

And then up on the ridge for a walk in the ever-present wind.

Now those are some happy smiles! Gretchen came back and got me, though I’m not sure why since I had to hang out in the car while she met with her physical therapist. As Gretchen says, her body is an older model and therefore always needs a little tinkering and tuning up to keep her running well. And run we did after she was done with her appointment for we had to pick up Gemma again for a short evening romp and walk. We didn’t take photos because the light was all wrong and frankly, Gemma and I just wanted to play.

Yes, I’m tired, but I’m happy for the day of work/play and very happy that we made it home safely. Please, if you drive a car, watch out for us (as in “us” for real and “US” the universal pedestrians!)

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Gemma, Ollie, Playa, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News / Tagged: , , , ,

April 5, 2010

April 5, 2010 4:14 pm / Leave a Comment /

My Apologies

I seem to be apologizing a lot lately, but I really need to do so for Friday. Yes, I know today is Monday and frankly I’m quite happy that we made it here, but I didn’t post a blog on Friday because of unforeseen events. I will provide just the facts:

1. Good Friday — we had a date for a 5:30 dinner in Suquamish with my Grandparents (requiring a ferry boat ride)..the whole day was timed down to the last second.

2. We had dogs to walk, but the first — Rosie and Tyson — happened in the worst rain and most blustery of wind. Therefore, we left the camera at home thinking (foolish us) that the weather would continue.

3. No one else had to walk in the rain (just wind, wind, wind), but no one got their photo taken either.

4. Argo — the little guy (13 pounds) we were taking care of for the week, exercised his heart out so we left him home to rest while we walked everyone else…in the wind, but we forgot the camera again.

5. Upon our return, Argo weighed 15 pounds, his stomach distended and his whole body looking green.

6. He’d jumped on every table and counter surface available surfing for food — dining table, desk, kitchen counters, and finally, the kitchen island.

7. Yes, Argo is small, but he’s a mighty jumper and the bar stools helped.

8. 3 date bars and 6 large homemade chocolate chip cookies later, we were feeding Argo hydrogen peroxide and calling the vet. (Don’t worry…hydrogen peroxide in small doses is okay…it makes us “unconsume” bad things we’ve consumed.

9. 5 “unconsumes” later we’re driving to the vet’s office (I stayed in the car) and wondering if we’d make the ferry for the dinner date.

10. Best vets ever (in our humble opinion) fit us in pronto where Argo was given a stern look, but a clean bill of health.

11. Off we rushed to the ferry, made it, and then swayed and rocked away across the water — felt more like a 30 minute car wash than a boat ride! And by then it was wind and rain!

12. Made our dinner date (great restaurant according to Gretchen — Agate Pass Cafe), spent the weekend at the Grandparents, and cleaned off all the counters just in case.

Hence — no blog — and for that my sincerest apologies.

Argo went home yesterday — thrilled to see his voyaging mother, who informed us that he’d been to the ER three times before for eating chocolate.

For eating chocolate.

I never even thought I was supposed to eat it and here is this little dog vacuuming it up like he’s a canine version of a Hoover. We nicknamed him “Chip” for the rest of the weekend…as in Chocolate Chip.

And now it’s Monday and today everything went exactly as it was supposed to…well, except that Gretchen’s on Spring Break and we spent the morning together here at the house after walking Ann to school and then venturing down through Frink Park. I liked that very much.

Then off she went to walk Tyson and Rosie who were happy to see her — Tyson jumping up like his legs are pogo sticks and Rosie spinning like a dervish. They decided to walk down to the pea patch where it was apparent that people worked on their gardens over the weekend — lots of fresh dirt and lots of sprouting plants.

Of course, all Tyson and Rosie cared about were the treats they received for being good dogs while posing above the tiers of vegetable beds!

And according to their parents, they are known to consume mass quantities of chocolate if given half the chance!

Gretchen came home for a quick lunch and then we picked up Oshi and Perrito and headed to the empty tennis courts.

At first, I was the only one given a ball to chase, but soon enough, Perrito found one in Gretchen’s bag and did his darnedest to get it out!

Meanwhile, Oshi rolled in the warmth of the unexpected sun.

After the boys went home, we headed over to Saber’s house. The tennis courts were no longer free, but luckily, Gretchen had her long line and we got to play fetch in the little field. Yee Haw!!!

Once we were sufficiently worn out, we went for a nice long walk up over the ridge and down through the pea patch again…Gretchen wanted to see all the things people had planted so she could get her starts in the ground soon!

When Saber went home, we hopped in the car, which is something we rarely do, but to my surprise we drove to a new house, though NOT a new dog. Alice’s family has moved and therefore Alice, too and while she barked ferociously from her kennel, once Gretchen opened the door, she was THRILLED to see her and even more THRILLED to see me as I waitedpatiently on the walkway. I must admit, I was pretty happy to see her, too.

After I congratulated her on her new home, we walked through one of my favorite parks and Gretchen posed us first in a field of flowers (weeds actually, but still, they’re pretty as are we)…

…and then by one of the many waterfalls…

I could hardly wait to go into the water, but I was forbidden.

Alice, on the other hand, could hardly wait for her treat for being such a patient poser.

And as we walked home, the rain they said would be with us all day long finally showed up. Whew! Just in the nick of time.

All feels right in the world today — no vet visits, no panicked phone calls and worries about ferries and wind and rain. Whoever said Mondays are awful didn’t have a Friday like we did…and guess what? It was considered Good Friday according to Christians. Jeez!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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Posted in: Alice, Argo, Oshi, Perrito, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Saber, Tail Waggin' News, Tyson / Tagged: , , , ,