Do Dogs Think?

I often wonder how dogs think.  Do they think "I took two naps now my people should be home"?  Do they watch what their people do and think "those crazy people....where are they always running to"?  A dear friend who is also a respected local dog trainer says that dogs think but not that deeply.  Her position is "dogs are problem solvers".  I can't argue with that - as demonstrated by Thumper in the following tale:

Sunday, as I was leaving to go work on the new house (will it EVER get finished?), I gave each dog a chew bone.  They ran in opposite directions and sat with their bones.  You would think they don't trust each other....lol.  When I got home later, Lightning had chewed on his, but it still looked new.  Thumper's was a nub. 

I went into the bathroom to run my bathwater, and my two shadows followed me. Thumper took his position on the foot of the bed (his bone was now gone).  Lightning sat on the floor and chewed contentedly on his bone.  Suddenly, Thumper barked. Very loudly. Lightning, who obviously believed he had missed something while chewing on his bone, dropped the bone and scampered out of the room.  Immediately Thumper hopped off the bed, grabbed the bone, and jumped back to his spot.  Thumper's problem-solving process would have been like this....

Problem:  I don't have a bone but there is a bone in this room.

Research:  Lightning has a bone.  Lightning always runs to the door when I bark.  

Solution:  Bark and take Lightnings bone when he drops it and leaves the room.    If it's in my mouth, it's mine, after all. 

Very similar to the scientific method, isn't it?  (Yes, I'm a science nerd....). Next post I'll share how Lightning has figured out to cope with his thieving buddy.  

So long post tonight.  If you stuck with it til the end - thanks!  Do you ever think about stuff like this - do you wonder if your dog is a philosopher like I do?

It's mine!

We are headed out of town this weekend, and I just dropped the dogs off for boarding.  It's a really neat place - vet office on one side, kennel on the other.  Halloween decorations, including a dancing broom, in the lobby.  That broom will never be the same again - after checking them in, I turned around and saw Thumper lifting his leg by that broom.  Now it's his broom.  Definitely the embarrassing pet moment of the day for me....Mr. Personality just trotted back over like nobody saw him.  ***sigh*** 

K-9 Kamp - Are you trying it?

I've been seriously unmotivated lately.  Blogging, housekeeping, gardening, exercising.  Pretty much in any way you can imagine.

A few years ago, exercising was a big part of my routine.  A few times a week I'd go to the gym and do a weight training circuit class and some cardio.  Plus, I was usually in constant motion at home and work, chasing kids and keeping up my flower beds at home and running up and down stairs in the plant at work.  Fast forward to now.  I go to work.  I sit.  I drive home (sitting of course, and usually yawning).  I get home.  I sit.  I just DON'T want to get up and do a thing.  It's depressing.  Where my legs used to have muscles, now, well, they don't.  Neither do my arms.  And let's not even go to the abs.  Let's just say it's gotten so bad that even the hubby (who is no fitness fiend himself) has suggested I get laser lipo. 

I heard about K-9 Kamp on a blog hop last week.  I'm trying to participate in it - the goal for this week was to exercise 30 minutes MORE with your dog 3 or 4 times a week.  I did it.  :)   The dogs and I went for a walk three times this week.  Tiny step, but a tiny step in the right direction. 

Have you heard about K-9 Kamp?  You can learn more at Kol's Notes.  Maybe next I'll even do some sit ups. 

We're Not Lost

Hi freinds.  Did you forget about us?  Mom did.  That's why she hasn't written about us in so long.  She forgets to take us on walks too.  We are lucky she remembers to feed us.  Anyhow, we are goign to fix that today and write about us.

This is THumper.  I've been getting lots of rest.  For some reason I don't know why, I still have to go in my little room when the people are gone.  It's boring.  I'm a good dog.  Don't knwo why I have to stay in there.  I nap there on my dog bed.  Sometimes I chew holes in it.  Mom did leave me out of the crate sometimes lately.  I broke into the pantry and stole the milkbones that time.  Another time I got in there and got all LIghtning's little chewy things.  Boy those were good.  I've been keepign the Mom company too.  She likes it when I crawl in her lap while she's on the computer so I make sure to do that every night.  I chase squireels and lizards too.  I found a new place where the lizards hide.  My favorite thing is to go there and look for them.  I make lots of noise too.

This si LIghtning.  Life is boring.  I watch thumper getting lots of rest.  I dont' want him to feel bad so I lay by his crate.  Then I wait until mom has left and I go sleep on the couoch.  But she doesn't knwo this so don't tell her!  I've had to start chewing on Thumper's big chew bones because some thief took my little ones.  Some body also left the box of milkbones open one day and I helped myself to one.  Mom caught me and taped the box shut.  No more milk bones now.  I run and hide inside alot too.  Sometimes garbage bags scare me.  Sometimes my boy's baseball glove scares me.  Sometimes I take a big bone and hide with it.  I've been practicing my sniffing skills and can tell my people now when they are sick.  They call me Dr Lightning when I do that.  Take that Thumepr!  I'm a doctor!!

 
And if you forgot what we look like, here is a picture.  Don't let the glowy eyes scare you.  we had to take our own pciture too and had trouble setting the red eye thing since we dont' have thumbs.

Your freinds,
Thumper and Lightning

The Couch Potato

Guess who has been the naughty dog this time?  Lightning!  I supposed Thumper is still plotting his next bit of mischief and keeping me in suspense.

Sunday evening we went to the movies.  My son stayed home and snapped this picture of Lightning:

I know I'm not supposed to be up here, but Mom will never find out. 
It is so much more comfy than the floor, and I can see the football game better.

He obviously doesn't know that his boy sends those pictures to me.  :)

Will We Ever Forget?

I always feel sad on this day. I do not know anyone who was in the towers or New York City when it happened. I live far far away from where it happened. But I feel sad nonetheless.

This morning I woke up to Facebook posts about it. One from a friend who serves in the military and is deployed right now.   He opened his post with the words "Being 8000 miles from home..."  It reminded me that though the years have past, nothing has really changed....except for everything.  And then I saw a post about the service  dogs of 9/11.   I never really thought about them, but they gave, too.

So in memory and honor of all who were lost and / or still serving, whether people or dog, let's take a moment to remember them.   

Funny Glimpses from Weekend

So it's already Wednesday already, and I never wrote the Monday Mischief post that I was planning. Thumper had a busy weekend, and I had lots of material. But Monday was a holiday (it felt like a Sunday), and I totally forgot to publish the darn post. I've been feeling old lately, but heck, I thought I still had my memory......Anyway, onto the purpose of this post: To share with you the humor of a long weekend at home. Usually, when we are out of the house for long, Thumper is crated. This has been the rule since soon after we adopted him and I learned what Thumper is capable of when he's left to roam. We were home alot this weekend, with short trips here or there. I feel bad for crating him so often, so I just left him out with Lightning while we ran occasional errands. This is how that went: 1. Saturday - I ran away to the mall all by myself on Saturday afternoon and left the Baseball Player (who is now the Football Player) home with the dogs. They made sure he did not get in any trouble. He made sure they did not get in any trouble. Nobody did any chores. 2. Saturday Night - It's college football night. My little Football Player turns the TV to watch LSU vs TCU. It doesn't take long before Thumper decides he needs to be a lap dog tonight. He seems to understand the rule about no dog claws on the leather sofa, because he very gently crawls in my lap making sure to touch nothing but me. He ignores my words (no, stay on the floor, Thumper no!, ouch!) and keeps his eyes averted and tail thumping as he uses my arms and legs as steps. **sigh** He sure is heavy. 2. Sunday - All the people are in and out of the house randomly. We hear rustling in the kitchen, then Thumper appears with his green ball. I assume he was playing. Silly me. Later on, we hear rustling in the kitchen again. Lightning comes running around the corner holding a milk bone in his mouth. Investigation reveals a Thumper-sized opening in the milk bone lid. Umm. The green ball was just a diversion. 3. Monday (or as I thought it was, Sunday #2)- While cleaning up the house, I find a shredded plastic bag. It looks vaguely familiar. Kind of like the heavy duty kind that Lightning's chewy treats come in. What's left of the label says "Chicken basted chips". Yep, he did it again. Raided the pantry and ate all the little rawhides. Also discovered nearby was the Football Player's lunch container. It WAS a blue insulated zippered bag. Now it's trash - minus a zipper and with doggie chew marks all over it. 4. After picking up the mess of plastic and lunch container, I find Thumper sprawled out on my bed, in front of a fan, with a nice little breeze blowing over him while he naps. I had changed the sheets earlier and made the bed without putting the doggy blanket on it. I thought I'd see what a room not overtaken by dogs looked like. He didn't care. He is so spoiled. I don't know what I'd do without him. Hubby's off work today, so when I left for work, I left Thumper out to roam. Can't wait to here what Hubby finds him doing. :-) Have a great Wednesday.