Stranger things

Over the last week or so, there have been some strange things popping up on the lawns in the neighbourhood. Sometimes there are things hanging from the trees, and there's often stuff on on the porch or doorway.

I am curious as to what is going on here. What is all of this about? Why is this all occurring now? I guess we'll just have to add this to the list of things we Berners will never understand.

Buddy

Squirrels and more

We go for a walk at least two times a day here at my new home... once after Richie has had his breakfast and coffee, and then once again in the afternoon. Usually, we see some other doggies, and sometimes we see other 4-legged creatures.

Like this kitty for instance. Apparently I have no "prey-instinct" - like as in zilch, zero, nada. I sometimes notice these feline things, but rarely do I ever stop and see what they are up to. This one didn't run away like all the other ones do - probably because of the fence between us.

But there are these things with bushy tails that are always around the neighbourhood. There are a lot of nuts lying on the ground these days, and these "squirrels" as they are called, are running around, picking them up. They don't seem to afraid of me, as they can easily run up the tree when they see me.

 Like these two (actually three, but one ran off before Richie could take a picture) squirrels here. They were gathering nuts by this tree and when we walked up, they ran around the other side and chirped at me. They've got nothing to fear, really. Just happy to be out for a walk in the neighbourhood.

Buddy

Home alone

This weekend (or so they tell me), Christine and Richie left, and didn't come home!?! Instead, their friend Karen showed up a couple of hours later to take care of me. I had met her a week before, and was on my best behaviour with her. Well, except for our walks. You see, I like it here. And when she took me out for walks, I wasn't sure if we would be coming back. Since I can't have that, I would stop after we got only a few houses away, and sit down. Okay, I do this with Richie too, but after a few moments, I'll carry on. But since I didn't want to go too far from my new home, I held fast. One time, I ran so hard back to the house, I almost dragged her along!

But it's been great hanging out with her. Karen brought me this awesome rope toy to play with - it's my new favourite. We'll see how long that lasts for, as I like to chew the ends off and eat them. I did miss Richie and Christine however, as I would look all over the house for them. Why didn't I get to go with them?

Anyhow, another neat thing that this new human brought with her is this water and food thing. It makes it so that I don't have to stoop over to eat or get a drink. Or lie down. You see, when I drink water, I like to slurp it up with my chin hanging in the water dish. Like in the bucket outside. But with the water dish inside, I need to lie down in order to get the same effect... like this:

Well after what seemed like forever, Richie and Christine came home! I greeted them with much enthusiasm, and didn't even jump up or bite them! I really am becoming a good dog! Thanks for taking care of me Karen!

Buddy

It couldn't be helped...

I've been trying to be a good doggie, I really have. But the puppy in me got the better of me, and I ended up doing this last night:

It's really not that big of a hole, seriously. But you would think that it was a crater by the way I was treated after that. I got the full garden hose spray on all of my paws and my chest, and then both humans vigorously towelled me down. And today, as Richie was trying to fill it in, I tried to help by removing the grass bits that he was putting on top. I got lemon sprayed for that.

Anyhow, they say that there will come a time when I grow out of this kind of stuff, but I don't think it will be anytime soon!

Buddy

Two months

So they tell me that it has been two months since I arrived at this place - we dogs have no concept of time, nor can we count. But I've really settled into a routine here, so much so that it's a little boring. Don't get me wrong, it's great here, but things are almost the same every day. Same food, same schedule, same humans. It's enough to make a puppy like me calm down.

Like this for instance. Every afternoon, after we've gone for our afternoon walk, we often hang out on the deck, and I wait for Christine to come home. I have almost gotten used to the sound that the garage makes when her car comes home, and I get excited.

Sometimes however, I just like to hang out on the deck when Richie sits out there with me. I'm not much of an outdoor doggie, like my predecessor was. As soon as it gets too cool for him, we both go inside, and he'll watch that window thing in the living room.

That's ok by me too, and I'll take up one of my favourite spots, lying right at his feet, and he'll give me a pat on my head before I have a snooze. Sometimes, they come and lie with me on the floor, and I cuddle with them. I'm looking forward to spending more time here - who knows, maybe I'll even become predictable for these humans!

Buddy

Mystery solved!

For the longest time, everyone has been asking, "Who's a good boy?"... well, it turns out, I am! Ok, maybe only sometimes. But lately, I've been getting lots of "good boy" praise, and many cookies. Yes, there are still times where I can lose my mind, and get into trouble - like the time I raced around the yard like the Tasmanian Devil, tearing out Christine's puny little plants.

Turns out they don't like it when I do that... they replanted them and I pulled them back out anyways. And sometimes, I find that I just need to do something, and so I push the limits of what I am allowed (and not allowed) to do. 

Let's take this for example. I found out that I am not allowed to take the placemats off the table. But once I am caught and I get the "leave-it" command, I usually relinquish my prize to them. I've learned other things too, like "hurry-up" to get me to go pee before we go to bed for the evening. I think the one that makes these humans happiest, is "no-bite" - for whatever reason, they don't like it when I gnaw on their arms/legs/hands/feet.

Anyhow, being a "good boy" is a lot better than getting sprayed in the nose with that smelly stuff!

Buddy

Stairs, what stairs?

When I first arrived at this place, I was faced with these things that go between the living space and the backyard. There's even a set going upstairs, which I inadvertently went up one time, and had to be escorted back down again.

"What? I'm coming down... don't rush me."

But over the last 6 weeks (who's counting, really), I've been working on going up and down on the deck stairs, and was at the point where I could really cruise down them, and sometimes take two at a time going up. While I prefer to use the outside ones, I have been going down the inside stairs, and can pretty much do them in my sleep now.

This week however, Richie went away somewhere (apparently to go fishing - why did I not get to go?), and Christine spent the day at home but was upstairs. So I decided it was time for me to get over my upstairs issue. Well let me tell you, there is a whole other world up there! All sorts of things to sniff around at, and new pieces of paper and cardboard to destroy! Anyhow, I'm going up and down to this new undiscovered country, forcing Christine to "Buddy-proof" the upstairs rooms - whatever that means.

Buddy - King of Stairs

Sept. 24 update: Well, apparently I have a little work left on these stairs, as I inadvertently went down the slippery staircase like a toboggan. It's definitely not how I had planned it.