My Favorite Dog Tails

Barney's Grandmother

I don't know if my mother will appreciate this post, but she truly was Barney's human grandmother. He stayed with my parents a couple times when my husband and I went on vacation.  And since Barney had separation anxiety, he could not sleep in a room alone, he whimpered, barked, and howled. So my mother slept in the guest room with him. Barney on one twin bed, my mother on the other.

Like a grandmother with cookies for the grandkids, she always had a milk bone for him. We'd come to visit, and he'd go straight to the cabinet where she kept them. (He never quite figured out when they remodeled their kitchen and moved the box though!) He got a Christmas present each year and immediately went to sniff under the tree to find it. He knew what that Christmas tree meant!

When each of my three children were born, my mother came to help out for the first week. Although the human babies got plenty of attention, Barney made sure she never forgot her "first" grandchild. She petted him. Gave him food and water and paid attention while we were absorbed with the baby.

He never forgot it. You could tell he always associated "grandma" with positive feelings and nurturing - just like any grandchild would!

If Dogs were the Teachers ...

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience o f fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!
We could learn a lot from them.

Why dogs live shorter lives.

My mother sent me this email. It's so true about the nature of dogs and discerned by a six year old.

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker, and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn some thing from the experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. 

The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.Shane, who h ad been listening quietly, piped up, 'I know why.'

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good Life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?' The Six-year-old continued, 'Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.'

Any one who have experienced the unconditional love of a dog can attest to the truth of this insight.

Chief's Magic Paw

As I've said before, Chief loves food. He's very inventive in his method of getting food off the table. We call it his magic paw. At first he used it to pull the tablecloth so we could reach any plates, dishes, or dropped food on the table. So no more tablecloth. Now, he uses it to just grab and pull any cradles of leftover dinner delicacies. He has amazing dexterity with his paw and even extracts his claws like fingers for added grip or length. It's almost like he has a cat paw. With enough time and patience, he can get almost anything off the table.

Barney's Salad

Barney was still a pup when I invited my uncle to dinner. He had been working in the Chicagoland area for a long time, commuting 5 hours home every weekend.  I made a family favorite dish, and he and my husband had a nice conversation over a lingering meal. Because we talked for quite some time, we lost track of what our Barney was doing. Much like it is with kids when it gets too quiet, I thought trouble may be brewing. So I went in search of our silent and much too missing Barney. Alas, I found him on top of our bed. From the garbage can, he had taken the outer leaves from the head lettuce I used to make a salad, the carrot peelings (long before the days of baby carrots), and carefully trotted them upstairs to the middle of our bed. He was quite pleased with his creation. My uncle laughed out loud about the dog who made a "salad". To this day, I'm not sure what he enjoyed more:  the meal or the dog salad.

Showing a Dominant Puppy Who's Boss

Yes, that's right our sweet, little 12-week Bella wanted to be the alpha dog of the Lohmeier pack. I still think she's more of a wannabe as she seems to lack the confidence to stand her ground when she needs to against Chief.  On her first night with us, she challenged me.  The rescue had shown me how to put her on her back until she submitted. So on the first night, I tried this. She fought and bit me. Puppy teeth are sharp! So I tried a different tactic. I completely ignored her. She yipped. She nipped at my ankles. She whimpered. I held firm. Until she finally laid down and seemed a bit dejected. Then I petted and praised her. She has never challenged me since.

Missing Dog Rocco found after 5 years because of microchip

 This is a very heartwarming story about a beagle puppy from Queens who escaped through a hole in the fence and was found five years later in Georgia.  His little owner never gave up hope or forgot him. He was found because he was implanted with a microchip. So there's a lesson to this story too - chip your dogs so they can be found!  If only Rocco could talk, the stories he could tell.

See Rocco's story here.

Barney, King of the Yard

Before we remodeled our home, we had a deck right off the family room that went directly out into the yard. The yard was Barney's domain. This was his bathroom, play room, and hunting ground combined. He caught many raccoons and possums in that yard. We were allowed to mow it and share it, but it was his.

At night, he would sit - even into the dark, for hours - at the top of deck stairs, surveying his grassy kingdom. He would just sit, watch, and guard. And wait to see if some creature came into view and offered chase.

Sometimes Chief will do the same - although he lacks the intensity and duration of Barney's vigils - and he'll remind me so much of Barney who looked like a lion king watching over his pride.

Kissing Frogs

My "boys" (2 sons and one husband) went frog hunting this weekend, determined to land the big one, Whopper. And they did. Poor thing spent a night hiding in water, leaves, and branches in a garbage can on our deck. One of them decided to introduce our temporary pet to the dogs. (Whopper has since been returned to the creek near our house. He and I have never been happier!) Bella, apparently truly thinks she is a princess and believes the fairy tales about kissing frogs, gave Whopper a big wet one, a big ole lick across the top of his warty head. Alas, Whopper is just a frog, not a transformed prince. That or dog princess kisses don't count. Neither my daughter were willing to give it a try! Bella happily is fine as I know some frogs can have toxins on their skin. Whopper is happy back on his muddy creek bank. And the boys will forever be able to tell their "whopper of a story"!

When Chief Met Bella

We had Bella for about 24 hours when we went to a rescue "foster" house to meet Chief.  We had seen him on a rescue site, then he "disappeared" from the site, but I contacted them about a dog. They called me back about a puppy that had just been returned from an adoption because the owner was not at home much. As good rescues will do, they said to bring our other dog. So we loaded tiny, baby Bella to meet "Cooper".

When we got there, Chief (whom they called Cooper), looked huge in comparison to Bella. She showed no interest in him.  Instead, she spotted a toy and took it. Chief followed, wanting to play. She wanted nothing to do with him. He did the classic dog position that says lets play (hind quarters in the air, front quarters on the ground, head low, goofy smile). She answered by grabbing the toy and hiding under a chair.

He then started acting goofy, jumping, yipping, barking. He once backed up right into a china hutch. Wow, did he look like the dumbest dog ever. Meanwhile, she continued her hard-to-get act. It was kind of like watching my fourth grader flirt at the school picnic. Finally, the foster mom took the dogs in the backyard. That seemed to neutralize the behavior, and they started to play. When they came back inside, they started to fight. Never having had two dogs before, I was rather surprised how vigorously they went after each other. I reassured - many times - that this was normal.

So home Chief came with us. I think Bella has forgiven us, but she can get jealous of attention paid to Chief. And while they still fight, they also play, kiss, and lick each other all the time. I think they'd be pretty lost without each other.