Wags n’ Words

Dog Walking & Pet Care – Seattle, WA

Monthly Archives: January 2011

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January 28, 2011

January 30, 2011 8:27 am / Leave a Comment /

Relationships

This week relationships have been on my mind. Being a dog dog walker, I have lots of contacts with lots of people and their dogs. And I’ll admit it — some of them I like, some of them I don’t. It’s a mystery to Gretchen and I suppose, if I’m completely honest, it’s kind of a mystery to me. But even with the dogs I know well, my relationship with them is different from one dog to the next. It’s as if certain dogs bring out certain parts of my personality and this week, I’ve been doing my best to try and figure out what that all means.

Clearly, I have a different relationship with girls than I do with boys. Monty is my oldest friend and since my puppy-hood, he’s always been like a big brother to me. He teases me and cajoles me, but he always has my back if ever I need him. He’s taught me all sorts of stuff throughout the years like how to play fetch, how to splash in the lake, and how to leap up and box. I trust Monty completely and I know if I ever have a question that needs an answer or advice on how to be the best dog I can be, I can go to Monty and he’ll provide me with a thoughtful and insightful answer. Around Monty I can be goofy or calm, spirited or sleepy — no matter how I feel, I know he loves me.

On the other hand, Rosie is one of my newest friends (not the newest, but close) and I am a very different dog around her. For instance, with Monty I often slam into him inviting him to play and most of the time, he takes me up on the offer (though he’s getting older, as am I and we don’t do this as much). I don’t do this with Rosie. Well, not yet anyway. Rosie, who was rather nervous when we first started walking together, needs me to be strong and sure of myself. She needs me to be calm and in control and so, to make her feel more relaxed, I put on my most adult self and walk through the world confidently composed.

It helps Rosie and I like helping Rosie so maybe that’s the part of me that Rosie calls forth — the helpful part — whereas Monty calls forth my puppy part. I guess with Monty, I’ll always be the kid brother.

Ironically, Rosie LOVES Monty and Monty think she’s pretty sweet — well that she smells sweet. Of course, this makes Rosie pretty shy still don’t let the turned head fool you — Rosie thinks Monty is pretty sweet himself.

Woobie is a friend I’ve had for awhile now and from the moment I met her, I really liked her. In fact, I had a crush on her for a long time, but now that we’re really good friends, I’ve let those feelings mellow out a bit.

And Woobie helped me see that sometimes how I am with other dogs has more to do with the other dog than with me. For instance, Woobie is a really calm and mellow dog. She loves to go on walks, she loves to hang out, and she loves to visit us, but mostly she doesn’t go crazy in the world.

When we walk, she just goes about her business and pays very little attention to me. She doesn’t try to engage me in a game of chase nor does she try to steal my toys or annoy me in any way. When we’re together, I find myself relaxing more and it’s even though we don’t interact much, we appreciate each other’s presence.

It’s nice. It’s sweet. It feels good.

On the other hand, Paige is my newest friend, and I am a much different dog around her than I am around any of my other friends. Generally, if any of my friends tries to get me to play with them, I’ll play. With Paige, we haven’t quite figured out how to play together. We’re learning, though. Like last weekend, we went to the mountains together and ran and romp and dug in the snow with great glee.

Still, when Paige play bowed in front of me, I didn’t know how to react. I turned my head and just waited for her excitable moment to be over. This is unusual for me and I asked Gretchen why she thought I was so shy around Paige. I was embarrassed by her answer…

“You’re smitten,” she said. When I looked at her quizzically, she expanded further on her original answer: “You want Paige to see you as the older, cooler dog. You play kind of hard to get so that she keeps pursuing you because you know how much Paige likes to pursue things. When she turns her attention to you, you act all aloof and that makes Paige want you more. You like that so if you limit your engagement with her, she wants it more. It’s classic smitten behavior.”

I protested: “But sometimes I ask her to play and she doesn’t. What’s that about?”

“Well,” Gretchen explained, “Sometimes you play rather loudly and Paige isn’t sure how to react. Plus, she’s used to you sort of ignoring her. She’s not used to your rowdy self. But don’t worry, buddy, the more she gets to know the complete you, the more you two will figure it out.”

I suppose Gretchen’s right — Paige is a beautiful purebred girl and I am merely a curly mix of poodle and lab and sometimes I don’t feel as if I’m in her league. I do hope, though, that we work it out because hanging with Paige is always an adventure.

Ann thinks so too!

Finally, there’s Tyson.

I don’t walk with Tyson that often, but he is, perhaps, the male version of Paige — a beautiful purebred. The differences are that Tyson is older (older than me, while Paige is younger) and Tyson is nervous (while Paige is very confident) so while Paige and I are trying to figure out how to be together, Tyson and I are just getting to know each other. Of course, Tyson and I haven’t had a chance to play together, but hopefully one day soon, we’ll visit him at the dog park and have a chance to really let loose.

As for the boy-girl thing, it’s true — I really like girl dogs. Gretchen says it’s because they balance out my wild boy energy, but I think it’s just because girls are cute and they make me do silly things. Boys, on the other hand, are all about rough-housing. If I want to slam into someone, it will most likely be a boy dog though not always. If I want to impress someone, I’ll generally choose a girl. I don’t know why that is, but I guess it’s a complicated combination of personalities, breeds, ages, and gender all mixed together so that each relationship I have with another dog is unique and special…just the way I like it!

Until next week,

Rubin

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Posted in: Monty, Paige, Rosie, Rubin's Buddies, Tail Waggin' News, Tyson, Woobie / Tagged: , , , ,

January 21, 2010

January 23, 2011 8:44 am / Leave a Comment /

A Week’s Worth

So, I’m doing my best to write only once a week now that we’ve cut back on our dog walking business, but I have to be honest with you…it doesn’t much feel like we’ve cut back. And we even had a four-day work week.

Wait a minute, Rubin.

Uh oh…

You’re not in trouble, buddy, but we really have cut back.

Really? Then why am I so tired today?

Well, you’ve had a big week.

I think you’re stating the obvious.

How so?

Let’s see…we didn’t walk on Monday though you and I went for a really long walk that day…

You’re welcome…

Yes, well then Tuesday came along…

And you stared at me half the morning wondering why we weren’t going anywhere.

But then we went, didn’t we?

Are you complaining?

No, no, no. I mean, I got to walk with Rosie…

…and then you went to the pool with me where I swam you and then, much to my surprise…

I got to go out with Paige and Sheila!!!

Yes, that was totally unexpected.

And we went out into the woods and I got to run around in the dark just like Paige does!!!!!

I know, I saw the photos. You look a tad bit nervous.

Well, there were all sorts of weird sounds at night and I wasn’t quite sure where we were going and frankly, it’s hard to keep up with Paige.

But you were a good boy and stayed close to Sheila didn’t you?

Yes, until I found a ball and then I raced and raced around and played fetch. Whew, that was so much fun!

And you didn’t raise your head the whole night.

It was a big Tuesday and keeping up with Paige wears a guy out!

Yes, for you, it was unexpectedly big. Do you feel bad for staring at me that morning?

Nope because I firmly believe that my staring at you resulted in my amazing day.

You’re so funny.

Think what you will, Ms. Non-believer, but I have powerful abilities to make you do things you don’t even know you’re going to do.

Dream on.

We can argue about this later, but let’s see, who gets Parmesan cheese on his food when he won’t eat?

Moving on, Rubin. Tuesday was busy, what about Wednesday?

Maybe not as busy as Tuesday, but we still walked three dogs, which isn’t that much different than before our cutback.

Well, for you it may not be, but for me it was definitely a reduction of my schedule because normally you’d walk with three dogs and I’d walk with seven, but this Wednesday we both just walked three.

Oh, so is this reduction in the schedule is about you and not me?

Sort of. But you didn’t walk with Rosie on Wednesday.


I know and I totally wish I could have because Monty told me she really busted a move on the tennis courts!

She really likes Monty and I was lucky enough to have the camera out when she started spinning.

It looks like they had fun…wish I’d been there…(sad face)


But you needed to rest because it was only Wednesday and Thursday was going to be busy…well, kind of…

Now that I think of it, though, Thursday felt a bit different.

How so?

Well, we got up like usual, but then you headed to the pool and that’s really different.

Yeah, I had some office work to get done.

Is that why I had to wait in the car for you?

Yes. You get rather excited when you think you might be going swimming.

I get even more excited when I think I might get to see my Auntie Sheila and my good friend, Paige.

There is that. Besides, I really needed to focus on what I was doing and since you got a great walk up at Volunteer Park, I thought you could rest a bit.

Yeah, but it was darn cold!

Thursday was surprisingly chilly, wasn’t it?

It felt like it might snow!

I agree, though luckily it didn’t rain or snow.

Lucky for you, perhaps…

But then we got to walk Rosie and then Woobie. That was fun.


We saw Woobie a lot this week.

Yep, her Mom needed us this week more than usual, but Woobie’s easy.

And fun…

Very fun…


And we also got a lot of phone calls from people who needed a dog walker.

Isn’t that how it always goes…when I don’t need the extra business, I keep getting it?

But I was proud of you for saying “no” even though I know you felt bad for turning down the work.

Yes, well, I just remembered my feet and knew that if I was going to make it until Friday, I needed to take care of myself.

But Friday turned out to be another busy day!

Yes. At first I thought everyone needed a walk — Monty, Rosie, Tyson, and Woobie — but then Woobie’s mom go to work from home so it was just the three dogs.

And lots and lots of rain.

A bit too much for my liking. It was hard to get photos.

How did you do it?

Well, I stood inside the house and got the two wet boys at the front door dripping and shaking…


That was me and Monty!

And then I got Rosie and Tyson under the picnic shelter at the park.

Rosie seems to be saying, “Do we have to go back out in that weather?”

They were both saying that!

I have to admit, it was kind of yuck yuck yucky out there on Friday!

AND you had to work at the pool. You’re feet must have liked that?

I have to admit, it’s nice to work in a warm pool after a week of walking.

I bet that feels nice.

I know what you’re doing?

Me? Moi? What?

As much as I’d like to take you every day and swim you at the pool, it’s not going to happen, buddy.

Okay, but maybe I could hang out in the office? (cheesy smile)

And hope Sheila and Paige abscond with you?

Abscond?

Dog-nap, steal you, abduct you?

I could think of worse fates.

You are a player, Rubin! A total player.

With tired paws.

Go eat your dinner.

I would, but it’s missing Parmesan cheese.

Until next week!

Rubin and Gretchen

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

January 15, 2011

January 18, 2011 7:46 am / Leave a Comment /

It’s Time

I knew this day was coming, but now that it’s here I have mixed feelings.

Our business is changing. Now that Gretchen has a full time job at the pool as the manager, she’s had to cut back in other areas of

Gretchen in the pool with Tony the Face. He LOVES his massage!

her life. She says that if she were 20 years younger, she might be able to walk 7 miles a day, spend 6 hours a day in the pool swimming and massaging dogs, and survive 12 hour work days, but she isn’t so therefore something’s gotta give.

So, she’s cutting back on the number of dog walking clients she’ll have per week.

What this means for me is that I’ll get more walks with Gretchen just by myself and

while I am very happy about this (I enjoy our alone time), I’m also sad because I won’t see some of my friends as often. It also means that I won’t be writing this blog every day. Again, it’s kind of nice to think about not having to write every day (sometimes, as you know, it’s been tough to keep up), but in one way, I’ll kind of miss it. Keeping a daily journal, as it were, is a great way for me to reflect upon my day and my life.

But Gretchen says that I shouldn’t dwell on the sadness, but rather embrace this day as a day to celebrate my friendships. So let me begin…

Waiting with my friends for a mid-morning snack!

My closest friend in all the world is Monty. We will be keeping him as a client so you’ll read more about our work adventures (days when I walk him), but you’ll also read more about our friendship adventures (days when we’re just hanging out and NOT working). Monty’s a special guy. He’s taught me more than any other dog I’ve known and I’m looking forward to more wisdom and fun with my big, woolly buddy in the years to come!

We’re also keeping Woobie who, as you know, has been staying with us this week. She goes home tomorrow and we know she’s very excited to see her family once again. Yesterday, when we were driving around on some errands, Woobie got really excited at one point in the car. “What’s with Woobie?” I asked Gretchen.

“Look where we are,” Gretchen said.

We were one block from Woobie’s house. I guess I’d be excited, too if I passed by my house after not being there for three weeks.

“Soon, Woobie, you’ll be home soon,” I told her and she wagged her big, wavy tail and smiled.

Gemma is a dog we’ve passed onto another dog walker (or two). I’ve known Gemma since she was a puppy and it’s been fun to watch her grow up. I will miss her lively spirit and her willingness to go anywhere and try anything. I didn’t think I’d miss when she bites my neck or pushes me around with her butt, but then when I really thought about it, I realized I actually would. Happy adventures, Ms. Gemma.

Oshi and Perrito will also be moving on. While I’m sad that I won’t see them as much as I used to, the live right next door so I will at least get to watch them on their porch as they scurry around and chase each other. When the weather gets warmer, I may just invite myself over there to scurry around with them.

And then Saber. I’ve known Saber since he was a puppy as well and boy, has he ever grown! I’m miss a lot of things about Saber but the one I’ll miss the most is his goofy happiness.

Every day, no matter the weather or my mood, Saber makes me smile. He loves life and has taught me to embrace every moment with exuberance and zeal.

I sure hope we can arrange play dates in the future because playing with Saber is about as fun as it gets!

Even today, when he knew this was his last day with us, he laughed and laughed and laughed in the rain as we watched Woobie battle the wind and Gretchen forced us to sit on a cold, stone bench and pose for yet another of her many (too many, I might add) photographs.

Okay, I’m gonna kind of miss all of this, but I’m not going to dwell on that…I’m going to dwell (and laugh) on the happiness of friendships…

And to you, my faithful readers, thank you for your support these past few years. Please keep checking in for I will still be writing about my adventures and my thoughts and everything in between. They’ll still be photos and witticisms and the humble contemplations of a maturing Labradoodle (that would be me), but they won’t be as often. I feel like I know each and everyone of you personally and I’d hate to lose that connection just because the focus of my work is changing.

And yes, it’s changing. Turns out I’ll be a pool boy accompanying Gretchen to work at Wellsprings K9 and assisting my friend, Paige as she blogs about her work at the pool.

It’s time and so I step forward into my new adventure in life and I sure hope you follow me! All the best to my four-footed friends and their families who have touched my life in such wonderful ways. I know I’ll see you on the streets of this fair (albeit wet) city and I hope your tail wags as much as mine!

Until next time,

Rubin

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

January 13, 2011

January 13, 2011 8:21 pm / Leave a Comment /

Dry Spots

Okay so the rivers running down the middle of the street stopped and I bet you think that because the picture of Rosie to the right looks dry that we had a fairly weatherproofed day…

…but I’m here to tell you that it just ain’t so.

It was wet. So wet, we went searching for dry spots.

We didn’t find many.

Okay, under Rosie’s new raincoat was one, but on the whole, we were pretty much just as wet as we were yesterday only today Gretchen braved the elements and pulled out the camera for a few select (and quick) photos.

I know…Rosie looks grumpy and she was. Two reasons: The first was that Woobie and I went for a nice long walk this morning (in the pouring down rain) and so we dried off and rested while Gretchen walked Rosie…by herself…and she was none too pleased about it either. “Where’s Rubin? Where are my friends?” she pouted to Gretchen.

“It’s just me today, Rosie. Sorry,” was Gretchen’s pathetic response and for that, Rosie gave her the cold shoulder for the entire walk!

The second reason she was grumpy was because she had to wear her new coat and the rain just kept coming down. She doesn’t mind her new coat as much as I mind my coat, but still, she just wanted to either walk in the buff OR wear her old coat.

But aside from it being rainy today, it was warm — 52 degrees warm — and this new coat is unlined and therefore not as warm.

Rosie wasn’t buying it so she got a grumpy walk today.

I thought for sure we’d get to walk with Gemma and Saber, but since it was STILL RAINING Gretchen decided she only wanted to walk two dogs in the wetness and not four. Boo hoo.

The only dry spot they could find was in the tunnel and so Gretchen posed them in front of one of the murals of Seattle. It depicts a brighter, happier, drier time in this wet city and frankly, Gemma and Saber wanted to just get on with the walk and not hang out in the tunnel.

You’re probably asking yourself — “Where’s Rubin in these photos? Where’s Woobie?”

We found the driest spot I know! And we both liked it very very much!

Until tomorrow (and cross your paws for NO RAIN!)

Rubin

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

January 12, 2011

January 13, 2011 7:53 am / Leave a Comment /

Walking through a slushy

I suppose that title says it all. It snowed last night — about 3 inches — and then early this morning it started raining and hasn’t stopped. All that snow turned to slush. We were wet, wet, wet for the entire day. We dried out in between walks, but it was a messy, messy day and therefore, no photos.

My apologies.

We walked Monty and Woobie first and they both picked up their paws really high as we sloshed through the river of water melting on the sidewalks. Gretchen walked Gemma and the two little mops — Oshi and Perrito — and everyone was pretty chilly and soaked by the time they made it home.

I walked with Rosie and she told me that she’d rather be at home — “No offense, Rubin,” she added and let me tell you, no offense taken.

Not our photo, but this is kind of what it was like today...

Woobie and Monty got to walk with Saber and out of all of us, he didn’t care at all about the wet and mud and rivers winding through the city. His positive attitude is an inspiration.

I should write more today, but the rain’s got me a bit down. I checked the weather report and let me tell you, it’s not a pretty picture for the next few days. While everyone else is digging themselves out of the snow, we’re about to go shopping for a boat and oars.

Frankly, I’d rather have snow. Yes, I know for those of you in Atlanta that’s not the case, but I say, if you’re going to be wet and cold better to be that way due to snow than rain.

Perhaps photos and words tomorrow, but no promises. I’m off to find my galoshes.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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

January 11, 2011

January 11, 2011 9:13 pm / Leave a Comment /

A Kingfisher Day

Gretchen has always believed that if you see a Kingfisher you’re going to have a good day. I’m more skeptical though today could prove me wrong.

When I woke up and looked at the schedule, I was surprised to see that all of our clients were absent from the calendar. “Huh?” I questioned with my head cocked.

“I have to go into work at the pool earlier than usual,” Gretchen said, “And everyone was kind enough to take care of their own dogs today.”

“Yeah, but what about Woobie and me?” Remember, Woobie is staying with us so Gretchen has bigger obligations than just me.

“Don’t worry,” Gretchen reassured us. “I have big plans for this morning before I head off to the pool.”

See why I was skeptical about it being a good day? Even when we arrived at Seward Park, I tried to contain my excitement because I wasn’t sure how long we’d stay or which path we’d take — some are way more fun than others.

That’s when we heard this kind of laughing sound from the sky. “What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s a Kingfisher,” Woobie informed me. “It’s going fishing as it name implies.”

“How do you know that?” Woobie’s intelligence is a subtle thing. You think she’s just happy-go-lucky and not really paying any serious attention and then something like this pops out of her.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I just do.” And with that, the Kingfisher dove down, snatched a small fish from the shallows and flew away with the fish flapping away in its beak.

Amazing!

“She’s right,” Gretchen concurred. “It’s going to be a good day.” Of course, we had to stop, pull out the camera and get photos of it all, which included photos of Mt. Rainier in the morning light…one with tree and one without.

Okay, I have to admit, things were starting to look pretty wonderful. And off we went, not just around the park…

…but through it as well, which is absolutely the most fun ever. The park has all sorts of hidden trails and if you take the time to explore, you can spend hours up there, which is exactly what we did.

It was a blast! Woobie enjoyed it too as we chased each other back and forth along the paths and through the woods and posed on top of a HUGE downed tree. I bet that tree made a loud noise when it fell.

When we got home, we were ready for our naps and even though it was a great morning, I was a bit worried since Gretchen was going off to work way earlier than ever before. Luckily, Ann came home and took us for another walk. Frankly, the long nap in the afternoon felt great especially since I invited myself onto the couch.

Shhhh, don’t tell!

Hope you all had a Kingfisher kind of day! Let’s take another look at that mountain, okay?

Rubin

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

January 10, 2011

January 11, 2011 8:49 am / Leave a Comment /

Ubiquitous

Now there’s a big word! And yes, I know what it means. That’s why I had to laugh when a young man, who lives up the street, saw us out walking twice today — once in the morning and once at lunch time — and said, “Rubin is ubiquitous!” Our neighbor had seen us first about a mile from our house and the second time miles away from the first spot. The same neighbor works at a Daycare facility and we sometimes walk over by his work as well. He drives to work and we walk over there.

So yes, I guess I am ubiquitous — everywhere at once…or so it appears.

I glad somebody appreciates the miles I put in. Or perhaps they admire that I’m always out and about without really knowing that I log about 6 miles in a day (some days more, some days less). It makes me feel proud to be the “face” of dog walking and while we wrap up our last week of full time dog walking work, I find myself nostalgic, reminiscing about the past two and half years.

But I won’t go there today. Instead, I want to focus on the dogs we walked today. Well, I didn’t get to walk with everyone because I kind of had an upset tummy last night and Gretchen felt it was important that I rested.

Whatever.

The day started with a walk with Woobie. She’s staying with us for a bit while her parents finish up their trip to Africa! Woobie and I walked in the chilly morning and as our agreement, Gretchen doesn’t take photos on our “non work” morning walk. Despite the lack of a camera, we had a good time and slowly my tummy started to feel better.

Rosie and Tyson also got a morning walk and it was equally chilly for them, too. They headed over to Leschi where they pose on the brick wall and did their best to win over more treats from Gretchen’s pocket.

Gemma was next and she got to go out with Oshi and Perrito where the three played fetch and “prayer” ball (Perrito’s favorite activity) on the icy courts.

Well, Oshi didn’t play, but he supervised from the perimeter. He LOVES to walk the perimeters.

Woobie and I got to walk with Saber. Saber thinks Woobie smells pretty…

Woobie, as you can see, just ignores Saber and Saber wonders why…

“She’s just like that,” I told him, “But don’t worry. She likes you! Just look at her tail wagging?”

“Which end is her tail?” asked Saber.

He really is a funny guy.

What you can’t see in these photos, though, is all the snow in the mountains just beyond the lake. Gretchen was really hoping they’d pop out, but the lighting was too flat and gray so all you see is white sky.

Trust me. There’s snow in them thar mountains and I can hardly wait until the weekend when we get to romp in it.

Woobie and I rested more after that while Gretchen went off to work at the pool.

They’re talking snow tomorrow and so, I head off to bed dreaming of the white stuff.

I know snow throws everyone’s schedule off, but I sure hope it comes down and stays for awhile. I love snow!

May it be as ubiquitous as I am!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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

January 7, 2011

January 7, 2011 8:18 pm / Leave a Comment /

All the little things…

This morning I watched Gretchen maneuver her way through an online tax website so that she could file her city B & O taxes. She gets pretty tense about it all and so I sit under the desk and rest my head on her nervous feet.

It doesn’t seem to help much, but I do what I can.

It’s amazing, actually, how many little things are involved in running your own business and we’re a small small business. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be twice our size or even bigger. Of course, if you’re bigger I imagine you hire someone to do all those little things for you — someone who, perhaps, enjoys it though I can’t imagine anyone finding pleasure in the work.

There are other little things that you never even think about — like maintaining this website and blog, organizing your billing, making schedules, planning for changes, blah, blah, blah. The dog walking is the easy part and thankfully walking dogs, according to Gretchen, makes all the paperwork on the back end worth it.

And it’s January, which adds to the stress since all that paperwork filed and piled in the office must now be sifted and sorted and prepared for the tax person. Thank Dog we have a phenomenal tax woman! She holds Gretchen’s hands (not her feet like I do) better than I ever could.

But those little things can clog up your day and make your work more difficult than usual. Like today. Gretchen forgot to take care of one of the little things — charging the batteries for her camera — and so we don’t have any photos from the day. Of course, it rained all day long — the kind of rain that gets you wet in 30 seconds or less so we probably wouldn’t have taken photos anyway, but it’s a good example of how one little thing can impact your day.

So our apologies to the families of Monty, Rosie, Tyson, Oshi, Perrito, and Saber — all dogs we walked today…in the rain…without a camera.

Good thing it’s Friday…perhaps we can attend to more of those little things this weekend and then be all caught up…oh wait, Gretchen just mumbled, “Fat chance!” so I guess I was being too hopeful. Oh well. I think I’ll go rest my head on her feet again and see if that helps.

Until Monday…have a good weekend,

Rubin

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

January 6, 2011

January 6, 2011 8:13 pm / Leave a Comment /

You’re One of Those…?

People ask some of the strangest questions of me as we’re out walking. This morning, on a wet, rainy walk with Gretchen (our special alone time) a woman stopped us and asked, “You’re one of those…” and then she snapped her fingers.

“A Labradoodle,” Gretchen filled in the blank.

“Yeah, that’s it,” said the woman.

Sometimes people ask if I’m a Wheaten Terrier or just a plain poodle. I know it can be confusing because there are lots and lots of breeds of dogs in the world and Labradoodles in particular come in many different shapes and sizes.

I also know I’m a particularly interesting mix since my Dad was a miniature poodle and my Mom was a first generation Labradoodle (her parents were a Lab and a Poodle, respectively). When Gretchen and Ann adopted me, they really liked my Mom. She was calm, confident, and a perfect size. When they met my Dad they thought he was cute, but were surprised by his energy, his re-activeness, and his level of nervousness. “Oh, that’s the poodle,” they convinced themselves and since they’d already fallen in love me, they adopted me anyway.

Little did they know that while I might look like my mother, I am definitely more like my father in temperament. We’re all working on it, but let’s just say I’m a work in progress. Thank Dog for Chinese herbs!

But I’m not the only one who is questioned about what I am. Rosie, for instance, is constantly asked, “Is that a pit bull?” or “Is that a mastiff?” Both of which are incorrect. Rosie is a boxer through and through — from her flues to her stump of a tail.

A lot of people have no idea what Gemma is. The common suggestion/guess is Airedale, and while she is a terrier, she’s an Irish Terrier. Most of the time, though, people ask, “What kind of dog is that?” and we have to explain.

Saber is also confusing because unlike most Labs he is not black or yellow or chocolate though AKC folks say he technically IS a chocolate Lab with a silver coat. Then again, there’s a whole other group (non-AKC folks) who call him a silver-coated Lab. Still, when we’re on walks people ask, “Is that a Weimaraner and Lab mix?”

Nope…pure lab, through and through.

I guess it just goes to show, you can’t judge a dog by his coat or his size or his coloring/markings or even his temperament.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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

January 5, 2011

January 5, 2011 5:21 pm / Leave a Comment /

Connected

It’s true that I have to moms, but somehow I’m more connected to one more than the other. Not that I don’t love them both equally. Not that when one or the other comes home I’m not thrilled and all wiggly to see them, but it appears that on a more unexplainable level, when Gretchen gets sick, I get sic. Or worse, when I get sick, Gretchen gets sick. I’m not sure why that’s worse, but maybe it’s because I feel bad about it.

Anyway, last night my stomach got all gurgly (is that a word?)…it started to gurgle. Loudly. I didn’t feel well and in the middle of the night, I got up and hurled on the carpet. Not a pretty sight, but all night long Gretchen kept feeling worse and worse and though she kept her side of the carpet clean, she said she felt like she could leave a spot somewhere inappropriate.

Turns out we both have intestinal distress. This is not the first time that it’s happened. Sometimes my left shoulder will hurt and Gretchen will get the same pain. When her left knee was gimpy, mine was too.

This is what I mean by connected. It’s eerie. We talked to the doctor about it this morning when I went in for my acupuncture appointment. “It’s not uncommon,” she said and went on to explain how many clients and their pets have the same ailments and conditions. “As a practitioner,” she explained, “I have to protect myself not to take on the energy of my clients.”

I thought this was kind of weird so I talked to Gretchen about it on our way home from my relaxing acupuncture appointment (and surprisingly, my tummy feels much better — must have been those needles in my stomach points!).

“You do massage on dogs,” I asked, “Do you sometimes pick up their ailments?”

“You know, Rubin,” she responded, “I’m not your typical woo-woo kind of person and I would have been the last to believe that such a thing could happen, but the more I work massaging dogs, and time with you, I realize just how amazingly we are connected. It’s true, if I open myself up too much in a massage, the pain the dog is feeling sometimes transfers to me. Not with the same intensity and it’s not like my knee is injured or my discs ruptured, it’s more of a general pain in that area. So, I’m not surprised that since you and I spend so much time together and we love each other so much that your sore shoulder is mine and mine is yours.”

Wow. If you knew Gretchen well like I do, you’d find this pretty surprising information and I suppose, if I were a scientist, I’d question the results, but I guess, in a way, we’ve kind of run our own experiments and the evidence is pretty clear to both of us — we’re connected.

On another completely different note, we’re “connected” in another way. Gretchen and our friend, Richard have been working feverishly on a new website for Wellsprings K9 (the pool where Gretchen works) and last night they launched it. You can see it here. Ironically, right after it launched, Gretchen felt ill and so did I.

Maybe it’s been the stress of ironing out all the glitches and the hours spent making it look the way we wanted it to, but I guess with all this woo woo stuff in the air (and in this house) I shouldn’t be surprised by the cause and effect.

Don’t worry — neither of us was too ill to not walk dogs today, though we walked slower and Gretchen let me rest more at home during the day, which was a good thing, I suppose.

So while I went on a walk with Monty, he walked some of the other dogs in my stead while Oshi, Perrito, and Gemma were left to their own craziness without Monty or me!

And just like the weather people promised, the temperatures rose and the rainclouds moved in. Thankfully, it stayed dry for our work, but things look mighty threatening right now.

So here’s a quick rundown of the day…

Monty walked with Rosie — well actually, they played at the tennis courts and had a blast (I’m only slightly jealous!)

Hard to see, but Rosie is chasing Monty...can you see her right behind Mr. Wooly!

Gemma walked with Oshi and Perrito, and yes, the gray skies tell it all!

And I got to walk with Monty in the morning (no photos, though) and then Saber in the afternoon.

Then I got another nap…so did Gretchen…and frankly, we both needed it. Monty enjoyed it as well. I wonder if he’s connected, too?

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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