What Will I Do?

The weather reports predict that this will be one of the best weeks all summer, which consider the summer we’ve had is either saying a lot or not saying much. I was looking forward to a week’s worth of dog walking in predictable summer weather knowing that it would include trips to the lake and perhaps even a trip to my friend Ben’s swimming pool.

What I didn’t foresee was that I would not really be working this week because Gretchen is in school from Tuesday through Saturday on her way to earning her small animal massage license. When she first told me, I cringed and my jaw dropped. Then I cocked my head and asked, “What will I do?” And then I thought of all the things that won’t happen: I will have all this time on my paws. I won’t be able to see all my friends (as in clients). I probably won’t go to the lake and even though there’s a slim chance I’ll go to Ben’s pool, I still won’t be pounding the pavement helping to earn my kibble (well, it’s actually homemade food with a bit of kibble thrown in).

And when will Gretchen and I hang out?

She tried to soothe my worried brow and she even took me away this weekend to the river where I got to play in cold water, hangout with my little kid friends, and go leash free for miles and miles.

But when she told me that today was going to be our only day of work for the rest of the week, a mournful moan came from my belly and filled the house with such sorrow I know I made Gretchen feel bad.

“I’m so sorry, buddy,” she said. “I think I shall go crazy, too. I have to be inside all week, on the best week of summer, and I won’t be able to go on long walks or play fetch with you or go swimming. I promise though that when I come home, I’ll take you out in the evenings and we can do whatever you want to do okay?”

I didn’t answer her. I was pouting. I think I’m still pouting even though I had work to do today. Still. I feel bad not only for myself, but for all our clients. I think they will miss us as much as we will miss them.

Gretchen says I should focus on today because, despite the outlook for the rest of the week, it was a good day.

It started with Rosie and Tyson and while I don’t walk with them, I love seeing their beautiful faces when the photos return…and the beautiful flowers popping out of their heads!

Then we walked Gemma with Oshi and Perrito. Ann came with us and I suppose now is the time to focus on what really matters — Happy Birthday, Ann! Of course, I think we gave her a bit of a headache — I rolled around…Oshi rolled around…nobody would sit where they were supposed to…and Perrito just wanted the ball out of Gretchen’s backpack.

Surprisingly, Gemma was the only dog who would cooperate!

Gemma played with me at the house for awhile, but mostly we just hung out in the shade. Then we picked up Saber and joy of joys we went to the off leash park where Saber dove right in, stole another dog’s toy, and then spent the rest of the afternoon stealing mine!

And we met a really sweet dog who posed beautifully for her photo!

After we were thoroughly wet, Saber and I walked with Alice and despite Alice’s nervousness about the “walrus” (Saber’s nickname) she seemed happy to see us today though she still wouldn’t sit too close. Of course, if you look closely, I was kind of rolling around again!

And I really shouldn’t complain because after we dropped Saber off, I got to go to Ben’s house and swim in his refreshing pool. It was kind of a surprising trip because Gretchen gave me a bath yesterday and then combed me out this morning and I didn’t think she’d want me to get messed up so soon, but she didn’t seem to mind.

Me either!

So normally I’d say, “Until Tomorrow” but that wouldn’t be the truth. The truth is “Until Next Week” and it pains me to write it…in fact, it pains me so much I think I’ll just say…

…Until Next Time,

Rubin

Wrong Impressions

You can’t judge a book by its cover nor can you judge a dog by its breed (or breeds). A picture may be worth a 1000 words, but sometimes those words don’t tell the whole story.

These are the lessons I’ve learned today and it started this morning when we went for a long walk with Oshi and Perrito. Oshi thinks he’s a cat and when we are out walking he is always lagging behind (hoping to turn around and go back home where he can lie in the sun) or pulling ahead once we’ve started our route back home. This has always been my assumption — Oshi doesn’t know he’s a dog — but then I started to notice that whenever we pass another dog or see another dog (especially one behind a fence) Oshi gets all huffy puffy and stands tall like a dog, not like a cat.

Man, did he have me fooled all these years. Here I thought he wasn’t really a dog because he never really wanted to go for a walk and he never really seemed to enjoy himself. (Whereas Perrito always thought being a dog was the best thing to be in the world!)

As for Rosie and Tyson, I’ve always thought they were big, tough dogs. I’ve seen so many photos of their strong, regal faces I thought for sure they were tough cookies. I mean, even their breed name (Boxer) sounds gnarly! But Gretchen tells me that while they may have some issues with fear and anxiety, they really are incredibly sweet. Another lesson learned.

I had to think twice today — did I learn anything from Gemma? Oh yeah, she’s really matured. I thought she’d stay a puppy forever and while she still has her moments…

…that she can stand in a stay position for photos and not race off after the squirrels is truly a picture worth a thousand words!

Of course, I can be good, too!

Alice’s pictures, though, do kind of tell a truthful story.

I know, I know, I know…she always looks like she’s going to crawl out of her skin with nervousness and while she’s nervous when we first pick her up — especially when we bring big, goofy Saber along — she really does settle into the walk and calms down quite a bit.

But still, she sits as far away from Saber whenever we pose for pictures because she’s not quite certain about his big, goofy energy.

And big and goofy he is! After we walked Alice, Saber came over to the house and we played towel games. Yep, he snagged a towel and I took it from him and then shoved it back in his face whereupon we play tug for awhile and then he barks at me.

It’s a lot more fun than it sounds especially when Saber barks to get it back. Now these photos is one where the picture doesn’t tell the whole story…

…he looks pretty mean, doesn’t he? There’s not a mean bone in this guy’s body! He’s a enormous clown and I, for one, love to joke with him. Goofball!

So those are my lessons for today. Thankfully it’s Friday so I can give myself a bit of a break in the lessons learned department. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Until Monday,

Rubin

Not a good start…

Gretchen woke up grumpy. She had yucky dreams then woke too early. I tried to ignore her, but then weird things started happening. She dropped stuff a lot. She forgot things. She was in a hurry. She forgot to eat breakfast. She forgot to take her blood pressure meds.

You get the picture.

The day improved once we started walking. Good thing because she was starting to make me grumpy. When I realized she had to go to the dentist, I worried that the improvements in her mood that I was sensing, would be about to end when she showed up at the dentist, but luckily Gretchen really likes her dentist so I was relieved that the appointment lifted her spirits a bit.

And then we walked around Queen Anne. Actually, we walked up Queen Anne and Gretchen’s mood shifted from grumpy because she forgot her camera and there were all sorts of great photo opportunities and happy because the sun was coming out, the view was incredible, and she was with me AND with Monty.

But the appointment made the day kind of packed and while she got a stellar report from her favorite dentist, she felt rushed most of the day. Good thing Monty and I stayed back while she ventured off to walk Oshi and Perrito. Luckily, they lifted her spirits a bit as well because the brothers were very laid back and happy to go on a walk. They even complied for the photos, which is something that’s often hard to get them to do!

Since Monty had just eaten lunch, he hung back at the house with Ann, while Gretchen and I picked up Saber and headed to Zoe’s house. Saber was excited to see us — since we arrived earlier than usual — and even more excited to meet Zoe who was, in turn, thrilled to meet Saber! Luckily their liveliness subsided on the walk and we all complied in the shade for our photos.

And then Saber got to come to our house and this is when Gretchen’s dark cloud of a mood lifted, though at first she was really worried. She opened the back of the car, told us to wait, and like a good boy I obeyed. Saber usually obeys, too, but today he leapt out of the car, jumped over the parking strip, and barreled his walrus body down the sidewalk. “Oh no!” I barked, worried that Saber would take off, which he did, but right to the gate of our house where he pushed the gate open wide and raced to the back gate to the backyard. Once there, he woofed and woofed and woofed waiting for Gretchen to “open up the gate!” so he could barrel into the backyard for fun and frolicking.

Oh my. I guess he likes hanging out with us. I like it and even though Monty has to stay relaxed and not get into the fray, Monty likes it, too!

The day ended with a surprise. Quillette and her mom, Jessica, joined us for dinner and while they dined on salmon, asparagus, potatoes, and frozen custard for dessert, Monty, Quillette, and I ate dinner and chewed on marrow bones on the lawn. Yum, yum, yum!

It was nice hanging out with my two best friends. It felt like the perfect ending to a rather grumpy start.

And you know what? Gretchen’s bad mood was no where to be found! Whew.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Confidence

I’ve probably written about this before, but I suppose when there are issues in one’s life, they never really go away, they just keep returning so one can continue to work on them until eventually, hopefully they do go away.

I might look like a dog with lots of confidence, but deep down I have some basic fears that challenge my confidence from time to time. One of them is thunder. Another is fireworks. Another fear is that I’ll be left behind when I can see that the car is already packed for a trip. And I kind of have a fear of big, black dogs — Rottweiler’s usually — and big men who wear hats and speak with deep voices.

I’ve been working on these fears, trying to maintain my confidence when faced with a clap of thunder or a tall man in a hat, but sometimes those fears shake my confidence to the core and I find myself barking uncontrollably. That’s how I deal with my lack of confidence — I bark angrily hoping to chase the fear away. Others deal with their fears differently. Some dogs piddle on the spot. Some run away and hide behind an object or their owner’s legs. Some dogs chew things up and go kind of berserk with their frantic nervousness. Others get really quiet and turn their heads. Others dig holes. Some even bite.

There are many coping skills dogs can learn. I, for one, often get a massage when the fireworks start or a storm threatens our neighborhood. It calms me right down and in my relaxed state, I can call forth my inner confidence to stave off the onslaught of fear that sometimes overcomes me.

But today, Gretchen told me about Tyson and his fear of being left alone and I have to tell you, I felt for the guy. Tyson’s family (which includes his sister, Rosie) are amazing people. They’ll do anything for their dogs and when Tyson regressed into his fear of being left phase (he worked through it once before) they immediately took steps to help him. I won’t go into all the actions they took, but when I saw the photos from Gretchen’s walk with them today, I realized they’d purchased something Gretchen has always thought of purchasing for me — a thunder shirt.

The theory behind the shirt is that it swaddles fearful dogs like a blanket swaddles a human baby. Held secure, dogs are less likely to get wound up and go out of their heads with fear. When Gretchen told me about it, I scoffed. “I hate wearing my raincoat, why on earth would I want to wear that?” But then she told me about how it seemed to really help Tyson today. He was calmer, she said, and though he is as adverse to his raincoat as I am, he seemed comforted by the tight-fitting clothing.

Added bonus, he looks rather dapper in it, too!

We all have moments when our confidence wanes. Rosie has a number of triggers that make her bark (just like me) and Tyson, stoic and noble as he is, loses his confidence when he is left alone. Poor guy!

You might not think that Perrito or Gemma lose their confidence, but trust me, there are situations when both of them get a little nervous. For Gemma, it’s yard equipment like power mowers, weed eaters, and those crazy leaf blowers. She’ll tuck her untuckable tail in an instant if she sees one of those on the street.

Perrito doesn’t like big dogs coming at him (who can blame him) and sometimes even Ms. Gemma can cause him to lie flat on the pavement so as not to be seen. Though mostly, he just wants to chase her!

Oshi actually has far more confidence than his younger brother. What Oshi lacks is the knowledge that he is NOT a cat, but rather a dog who should go on regular walks and not just lie around in the sun all day!

Saber, since he’s the youngest, has many moments when his confidence gets the willies. I’ve talked about umbrellas before and sometimes large garbage bags will set him off. Today it was a garbage truck backing up, but the thing about Saber is that he overcomes his fears quickly and in a matter of moments, is whistling a confident tune.

In addition to walking all our clients today, I got to spend some time with Paige this weekend (sigh!) and even she has some moments when her confidence takes a vacation. Oddly, sometimes I make her lose her confidence because I tend to play kind of rough. Yes, I know she’s a Doberman and yes, I know everyone thinks they are big and tough and aggressive, but after spending time with Paige (sigh!) on a hike…

…and at the lake…

…I can tell you that she has doubts as well.

All this is a reminder to me that I am not alone in my moments of uncertainty. And not feeling alone makes me all the more confident that some day, when the thunder rumbles over head or the fireworks pop and boom outside or the when a Rottweiler approaches I’ll be able to hold my head up and move forward with great confidence.

I hope some day my friends can do the same!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Thankful for Fridays

My life is full, but even more so in the summers. People stop by often bringing their canine companions, guests come over for a meal, and we adventure to places with people and dogs we haven’t seen in a long time. On top of the “regular routine” of our lives, it’s no wonder that I have a strong urge to sleep in every morning. By Friday, I’m exhausted, though happily so.

Yesterday’s surprise was my play date with Paige (blush blush blush) and today my surprise was a visit with my puppy friend Alice — that is, we were both puppies together and played very hard at tender young ages. Now we’re grown up, but we still enjoy each other’s company. Monty enjoyed Alice, too as our walking business overlapped with our Alice visit.

Alice today…

Alice as a puppy (and me, too!)…

On our way back home from walking Alice, we ran into our friend Laurie and her sweet, sweet dog Olive. If Paige weren’t in my life, I’d fall for Olive. She’s really adorable! Both Monty and I think so!

Because it’s Friday and because Gretchen knows I’m tired, Monty and I hung out at the house to rest while she walked Oshi and Perrito with Olive. Oshi and Perrito aren’t tired on Fridays. In fact, I’d venture to say they aren’t tired most of the time — except maybe after a long walk with us. See how well Olive gets along with others? I told you she was sweet!

Gemma and Saber got to walk and play together as well today and they did their best to wear each other out. Saber wears out first because of his size and I’m yet to be convinced that Gemma ever wears out, but Gretchen says she crashes after our time together. Mostly both she and Saber just crash on me while Monty watches and chuckles!

I was kind of happy when Gretchen went off to work at the pool tonight because I knew I’d get to sleep. Unfortunately, little did I know that she’d see Paige and I wouldn’t be with her! Darn it!

Though I didn’t get to walk with Paige, I did get to see her this evening when we picked Gretchen up from work. It was delightful and I will carry her scent and ears into my dreams!

Yes, it was a short day in terms of work, but it’s been a long week and I, for one, am thankful it’s Friday! Hope you’ve had a good day, too.

Have a great weekend,

Rubin

Chiaroscuro

In my studies, I’ve been fascinating of late by the use and term of Chiaroscuro. It’s Italian and means the interplay between light and dark. For example, painters use strong contrasts between lightness and darkness to make images stand out or to highlight certain aspects of their paintings. I was thinking a lot about Chiaroscuro today as we walked amid the shadows and light of a beautiful summer day.

Yesterday Gretchen took this photo of a hydrangea in our backyard.

We both liked the way the shade of the old cherry tree cast mottled shadows over the variegated purple blossoms of the hydrangea. So today, as we walked, I looked for similar contrasts in everything we passed.

Our first walk of the day was with Monty who is, if I do say so myself, a contrast in black and white, a walking example of Chiaroscuro. Passersby often stop us and remark on Monty’s interesting markings wondering what kind of dog he might be. His cheerful personality and interesting coat make him quite a conversation piece and since I’m shy about strangers, it’s kind of nice to have Monty there to block the unwanted attention.

Though I didn’t get to go on a walk with Oshi and Perrito, they also saw examples of light and dark on their walk. As the sun rises up over the hill in the east, the trees that line our many parks over interesting interplays between black and white. Of course, Gretchen often finds it difficult to get just the right photo — who’s in the shade, who’s in the light? — sometimes the beauty of the contrasts makes for their own unique photographs.

There are contrasts in energy, too. Monty’s is always light and mine can sometimes be dark and moody. Zoe, on the other hand, is beaming with lighthearted cheerfulness and her ebullience is enough to make me forgo my shadowed disposition and bounce gaily along beside her. I think that’s why Monty is so attracted to her — she shines so brightly!

Gemma and Saber pay no attention to the pondering of art and Italian vocabulary, though today they were filled with light that they got to not only play with each other, but with Monty and me as well in the light and shadows of the backyard.

My life is filled with Chiaroscuro I’ve decided — somedays it illuminates the bright spots of joy in my life and other days it brings me the calm of shadowed happiness. I am a lucky dog!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

Mostly Cloudy

Most mornings when we get up, we turn on the radio to listen to the news. Lately, though, we’ve listened to music. Gretchen says we need a break from all the negativity and that music gives us time to reflect and relax before we begin work. But this morning, the radio was turned on long enough for me to hear the announcer say, “Mostly cloudy all day.”

You might think that this would make me depressed, but in actuality, it made me dance a bit. It’s been hot. Not as hot as where my Aunt lives (in Virginia) where the temperatures have been over 100 degrees of late, but hot enough to make me want to just lie around on the cool bamboo floor right in front of the fan. But last night, when we went to bed, the fan wasn’t turned on, the windows weren’t open as wide, and a cool, brisk breeze blew the curtains around.

It was heaven.

And this morning, evidence of rain tickled my toes as I went out in the yard to take my first constitutional stroll. Blissful (the tickling mostly, but also the constitutional). I knew today was going to be a relaxing day even though it was the beginning of our work week. But I was ready after my nice weekend for something less hot than last week.

The weekend was active with visitors. First, Quillette came to stay with us for part of the weekend. It’s always nice to hang out with her. She teaches me how to make sad faces so I can get more treats!

Then the girls came over and we practiced dancing in the backyard. Well, they practiced and I watched on the lawn. Even then the weather was starting to change!

When our work started this morning with Rosie and Tyson, they were happy to see the change in weather, too because neither of them are big fans of the heat. They were hoping to go to the tennis courts for a romp, but the cooler weather didn’t stop the tennis players. So they posed in front of beautiful flowers…well, they posed pretty well until Tyson saw a large plane fly overhead! Then they looked longingly at Gretchen for their reward!

Gemma had to be told that it was colder. Nothing fazes her, though I did notice her desire to lie in my pool was mighty strong last week. This week she was bouncy and full of her typical terrier energy — much to Oshi’s dismay. Since Ann is off for the summer, she decided to help us out with Gemma, Oshi, and Perrito.

All of us went on our bouncy, tangled-leash stroll and headed to the tennis courts to see if they were free. Lo and behold they were and Perrito was particularly joyful about it all!

Oshi was his typical Eeyore self — slightly complaining that it was too cold to be away from his house, his family, and the new baby in their lives.

I was happy and Gemma, never one to let a little rain or a grumpy friend (Oshi) get her down, nosed us all into action.

The final walk of the day was with Alice who, despite her nervous barking when we first arrived, was happy to see us. She loved the cooler temperatures, too and we took off on a nice, long walk through the amazingly-gardened neighborhoods around her house.

Alice has two poses…the “What is that?” pose and the “I don’t see you taking my picture” pose. One day we’ll get a photo of her running. I have a feeling then she’d look a bit more relaxed!

I barely had time to say goodbye to Gretchen before she was out the door to her job at the pool. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with Ann and we completed some chores around the house including taking a nap in the living room — one of our favorite things to do together.

Hope you all enjoyed the cooler temperatures. We’ll see what tomorrow brings!

Until then,

Rubin

The Slow Walk

The heat did not really subside today, but there’s not much one can do about it except walk slowly. And that’s exactly what we did today — the slow walk of summer.

The first was with Monty and while the heat of the day had yet to reach it’s pinnacle, we were panting our way down to the lake for a morning dip in the cool, cool waters. No photos unfortunately as Gretchen didn’t want to carry her backpack in the heat if she didn’t have to, but trust me, we had a wonderfully good time!

Her next walk was with Rosie and Tyson and just like Monty and me, they walked slowly. They didn’t head to the lake, though. Nope, the walk was so slow they pretty much just meandered around the neighborhood finding shade (and flowers) where they could.

Gemma was next and even she walked slowly today. They picked up Oshi and Perrito who are often known to walk at their own speed, but today’s was particularly sluggish. They too sought out shady benches where they could pant and rest and pant some more.

Gemma stopped by to roll around with me in the backyard AFTER a lounge in the freshly filled kiddie pool. Gemma’s not much of a swimmer, but she sure loves to lie in the water! Monty just likes to get his feet wet!

Then Monty watched from his shady spot near Gretchen as we played in the shade under the tree.

Meanwhile, Ann brought lunch and we all just relaxed as best we could in the heat of the day.

Relaxing was hard to do, though because those sandwiches smelled particularly delicious. I wonder how cute we would have had to look to get some?

There was one more dog to walk, but since my life has been jam-packed with lots of swimming and activity, I got to rest at home with Monty while Gretchen took Saber down to the lake. While they didn’t walk as slowly as most of the dogs (they were headed to the lake after all), on the way back Saber was a little less rambunctious though extremely happy about his adventure in the lake.

He needs to practice, though, on retrieving the ball from the water! Silly guy!

It’s cooler now and Gretchen says she feels great after her shift at the hydrotherapy pool where the water is “just right!” I’ve taken a few more dips in the pool, eaten the grilled asparagus that’s fallen off the barbecue, and opened the front door to our overnight stay guest — Quillette. Life is busy around here, but luckily it’s the weekend and we’ll all get some rest!

Have a good one,

Rubin

How to stay cool in 94 degree heat…

As predicted, the temperatures soared to record heights again today and so Gretchen and I spent the morning trying to figure out how to keep cool. Actually, I didn’t really want to go to work today because it felt so wonderful to be splayed out in front of the cool fan this morning. My paws kind of ached thinking of the hot pavement I’d have to walk on and my tongue was tired remembering how much I panted when the temperatures were just in the 80s.

But duty calls and so we sat this morning over our respective breakfasts and came up with a list of how to stay cool in 94 degree heat — the predicted high.

1. Find Shade

Finding shade was particularly important for Rosie since she is not a big fan of going into water (like I am). So on their walk, Gretchen walked along the shady sides of the streets, meandered through the park (because Rosie doesn’t like to move too fast in the heat either) under the trees, and then they both took a rest under the shade of a big, big tree. Rosie was extremely appreciative. She even took a drink of water from the canister Gretchen carried with her!

2. Drive to water.

Luckily, we do not live in some landlocked state where there is no access to rivers or lakes or even the sea. We live in a place where we can pick up a dog — Ollie in this case — and transport him within minutes down to the Park that sits almost in the middle of a lake. Ollie, not particularly fond of swimming, decided it was hot enough today to take the plunge only he’s not as adept at fetching the ball as I am! Still, he dunked in and then we walked around the shady trails of the park incorporating #1 in our #2 on the list!

3. When there is no water to be found, make some.

One of the best toys my moms bought for me was a kiddie pool. I can’t tell you how many times it’s saved my life. And when it’s too hot to walk (as it was with Gemma and Saber) a pool party at our house is just the thing!

And we even invited the neighbor’s and their dogs — Oshi and Perrito — for a cool dip (though forced upon them) in the pool and a rest in the shade.

4. When you’ve used up all your lifelines, phone a friend.

When it gets this hot, I know of only one place even better than the lake — Ben’s House! Ben is so lucky because he has a pool in his backyard. An unheated pool and while this might seem like a silly investment in the winter months, when it gets this hot, I can think of no place I’d rather be!! And the babies agreed! Thanks Doris and Steven for sharing the pool! And Ben, for sharing your special red ball! Are you sure I can’t take it home?

Tomorrow will be hot, though they (whoever they are) promise it won’t be as hot as today. If they aren’t right, I may have to extend my list on how to stay cool. Stay tuned!

Until then,

Rubin

This HOT!

And yes, there was much more to our day (see below), but today the tongues said it all.

It was hot. Tomorrow will be hotter still.

Oh my.

I’m gonna go lie in front of the fan now. I wish I had more energy to write about our day, but frankly folks, I melt in this heat.

Stay cool if you can!

Rubin