Treats

A big Thank You to Ume for giving Arrow and me an award. Ume and so many other doggie blogs make my days. Good to find out what my doggie pals around the world are up to. Mostly eating better and dressing better than me—the naked dog!


We got a box of treats. My owners buy them in bulk now because there are no more shoes for Arrow to chew.












The Chewminator will chew whatever is around. Here is his signature bite on a blanket.

















They’re smoked so they smell like human food. I don’t like them as much as Arrow. Mostly I take them all into my cage and make him mad.

I bury stuff under the blanket. Scary eyes, huh?
















Arrow is crazy about them. He wants mine and I want his. Arrow barks and I growl. Usually late at night.

Our neighbor who lives under the living room is not happy. The humans splash Arrow with water when he barks. At first he liked it. A water treat. Now he is just confused.

The Debate

We have been watching so many debates on TV that me and Arrow decided to have our own debate.


Arrow: Are you better off now than you were before I moved in? I think so. Your life is never dull. It’s full of surprises. You never know what will happen with me around. (Or what you will find on the rug.) I know how to chew outside the box. And inside too.


Deefor: I am the experienced dog. With me you had two years of positive licking and playing. A love fest. You come home to a warm welcome. Not a smelly one.

Arrow: If you want a continuation of the same old thing, vote for Deefor. But if you want a president who can run fast and doesn’t growl at everyone, vote for me. Deefor may be all love on the home front, but he’s no diplomat in the doggie park. A vote for me is a vote for world peace.


Deefor: These days, you need a strong president. I may be small (like Kucinich) but I know how to stand up to the big dogs of the world. You won’t find me rolling over all the time. Or barking my head off. And I can’t be bribed with any old treat.


Arrow: True, I love treats. But I don’t give special favors to humans ‘cause they give me treats. Unlike my opponent, Deefor, who will lick his way to China if you smooch him. And China is dangerous for doggies.

Deefor: I think the choice is clear. Elect me. You know where I stand. And sit. And sleep. Don’t vote for a dangerous radical who doesn’t even know his own name half the time.

Arrow: Arf. Arf. Arf.

Freedom

First a scary vet picture that my owners got from a “friend”. Thought it looked like me! It’s not!









My owner mom likes to let me run free. I am usually pretty good. I know my name and most of the time I listen. Almost always. I explore but I look for her and come back.

Arrow takes off. My owner mom thinks it’s because he hates us, but really he’s just crazy. She keeps trying. She let us loose in a soccer field one day. Arrow was pretty good. The next time she let us play there. Arrow ran out the other side and down the street. A man opened his door, and Arrow ran in his house.

Last week Arrow ran out of our house in Denver. He likes to run to the park. Crossing at least one street. He ran down the back ally. We went after him. Then he ran back up the ally. We hoped he was coming back to our door, but he raced right past us, down to the front of our building, and around the block. We caught up with him in the park, playing with the dogs. At night lots of our neighbors take their dogs to the park for Yappy Hour. Illegal off-leash mingling in Cheesman Park.

Today my mom took us to a lake with a big sandy place to run around. We played. Then Arrow noticed the frozen lake. He ran across it. Then he came back. He ran across again. All this time my mom’s yelling: Deefor NO. Arrow come back. I stayed on the shore (like a good dog—where's my treat?). There are houses on the other side. Arrow ran around and finally came back across the lake with half a coconut in his mouth.


He ran up to some people taking a walk, and my mom was able to step on his leash. She left it on to catch him. (This a picture of the first time he came back. My mom was screaming so much later. She put the camera away.) He was sure tired when he got home.

Freedom means a lot to Arrow. Like Janis Joplin says: Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to loose. The world is a big adventure for him. My mom worries that he will get hit by a car someday. He doesn't think about what he might lose.

Fake Animals

Georgetown has a lot of fake animals. Strange because they have a lot of real animals too.

This one is a REAL sheep.















Big horn sheep and foxes and coyotes and deer. Mountain lions too.












Guess they want to remind humans that animals are around.



My bearded owner is always afraid I’ll get eaten by something bigger than me. My owner mom lets us go sometimes. Maybe she’s trying to get rid of us.



When we take a walk we pass fake buffalo. Fake antelope. Fake sheep. Big metal things, most of them, that smell more like rust than animals.











Dumb Arrow can’t tell the difference. He is at war with the fake antelope. Even close up, he barks and wants to attack it.










He should just pee on it and keep going. Here I am doing it in camouflage.

A Gift from Lorenza

Came home last night to a present! From Mexico! Lorenza sent us a box.

Me and Arrow opened it but it looked like people food. No doggies on the box.

Arrow and I read the box over and over. Nothing about Perros eating what looked like yummy cookies.

Inside a note. And no cookies. Lorenza sent my humans amazing pecans from her city in Mexico. They them all! Even my bearded owner didn’t give me a taste. Bad for doggies, he said. (More for him.)


More stuff. A fancy box and inside a beautiful necklace and earrings made by Lorenza’s tia. A doggie auntie? No se. And that is about all my espanol. I tried on the necklace. It is beautiful but I don’t think a boy dog should wear it. Especially in my neighborhood! Other doggies might get the wrong idea. And I don’t have pierced ears. So I gave them to my owner mom who LOVES them and is wearing them now! She needed a new collar.


Big gracias to Lorenza and her family. Arrow chewed on some delicious plastic packing. Those nuts smelled soooo good. My owners both said to thank you again! It made them feel better after I got all the Christmas cards!

Arrow Update

Arrow was sick. Pooping way more than usual everywhere. He saw the vet. (He likes going there!) She gave him a shot, medicine, and special food. Hills i/d. It's yucky but he likes it. Now he is almost like a clean normal dog. (Except in the car where he barfs in his crate sometimes.)


Today he had the run of the house. He slept on the bed. Then he found the new trash in the bathroom that was supposed to be Arrow-proof.


Oh-oh. Busted. The collar of shame. He’s wearing the trash can. Not before he chewed some dental floss and tissues.

Here I am. Burying his chew under the pillow! Mine Now!

Why Do My Humans Act that Way

My owner mom got a book from the library. It said that Arrow 's breed (Australian Terrier) was very smart!! Humans will write anything about dogs. Shows how dumb they are.

The author divides dogs into categories:
Companion, Sight Hound, Vermin Hunter, Guard, Scent Hound, Herding, Setter, etc. Can't you be a Sight Hound and a Companion? A Vermin Hunter (yuk) and a Guard?

Then he rates breeds for:
Dominance/Territorial- Aggressive. Assertive. Possessive.
Intelligence/Learning Ability- Openness. Learns easily. Problem Solver.
Emotional Reactivity- How quickly moods change. Stable or Neurotic
Sociability- Friendly or Shy
Energy- Extrovert (high energy) or Introvert (low)

They have 4 ratings-- very high, moderately high, moderately low and very low.

Arrow (the vermin hunter) is moderately low on dominance. True. I dominate him.

Very high on intelligence. Is it intelligent to run out of the house like a nut? Not come when called?

Moderately low on emotional reactivity. It's pretty neurotic to yap and bark all the time.

Moderately low on Friendliness. He's totally in love with everyone and every thing.

Moderately high on energy. Too high if you ask me.


Now I'll rate my humans.

First the bearded one. I'd call him a Companion breed and a Setter. (Sets around a lot)
Dominance- None. I totally control him and whatever he is eating.
Intelligence- Low. Smart at work. Dumb at home.
Emotions- Very high. He loves kisses. Even when he's driving.
Sociability- Pretty low. Except when it comes to me!
Energy- Hard to say. He sits on the couch a lot but has a lot of energy for belly rubs.


My owner mom. A cross between a Herder and a Retriever. (Pushes you around but gets your toys from under the couch.)
Dominance- Moderate. She's bossy and likes to yank the leash.
Intelligence- Low. Not much of a problem solver. Just look at Arrow.
Emotions- Lots of mood changes. Depending on the condition of the upstairs carpet.
Sociability- Too friendly. Talks a lot when she should be paying attention to moi.
Energy- Variable. High in the morning-- none left by the end of the day.

What about your humans? How would you rate them?

Resolutions for 2008

Changes for 2008? Do I want to change? Can I change?


I am what I am. Kissable. To those who feed and pet me. Grumpy. To dogs I don’t like. Nippy. When I feel like it. Certain pant legs set me off. Like that guy who brings the Chinese food. Never anything for me.

Perfect as I am, I could improve.

1.Learn to ignore Arrow completely. My little terrier-ist brother is a torturer. No water-boarding. Subtle. He quietly drags a toy or chew close to me. If I don’t react he drops it under my nose and sits there. Waiting. Baiting. Until I can’t take it any more. I growl and grab it. Then I get in trouble! Poor Arrow.


2. Sleep more. Especially in the car. There’s really not that much to see out the windows. Should be an easy one.


3. Not get jealous. When Arrow has a toy. When Arrow meets a new dog. When Arrow gets petted. When Arrow sleeps on my part of the bed. When Arrow.....


Arrow has some resolutions of his own which I will graciously allow him to share.


1. Move to a home without another dog

2. Get loose more often. Run faster when I do.

3. Stand up to the growling maniac I live with when he takes my stuff.