Good #dog at the fair. aka #Designer #Dog

Gizmo, the designer dog

    We took Gizmo to a local food/merchandise/etc. #fair today and he was perfect, except for urinating on the clothe covering the table of the guy selling stuff to get water stains out of showers and sinks.  Everyone wanted to know what breed he was (and everyone said he was beautiful).  Most were satisfied when we said #Gizmo was a "designer dog."

#Owner #loves #Lab

You know what: I can live without booties

During our morning walk, we met Judge, a #golden Labrador Retriever.  First observation: Labs are somewhat famous for their lack of good judgment, witness “#Marley,” the famous #dog that, among other things ate most of a garage.

     Second observation: the dog was wearing four #booties.  When I asked what they were for, the female owner said that, when Judge walks, he sometimes gets little sores between his toes and the booties prevent that.  Also, in the summer, when it has been as high as 120-degrees in Palm Desert, CA., the asphalt gets very hot.  The booties keep Judge’s feet from being burned.

     Third observation: we sure do love our dogs.

       “If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,

       If you can face the world without lies and deceit,

       If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics,

      Then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog.”   Author Unknown

Need To #Sell Your #House, Just #Bury The #Dog,

Please, do not even joke about burying me.

Not just any dog, but the little dog statue with the St. Joseph tag.

         ATLANTA  (BUSINESS WIRE) -- If you need help to sell your house, The Good Dogma Company has an innovative way to help. Forget the old wives tale about burying a statue of #St. #Joseph to sell your house, just bury the dog. Not just any dog, but the little dog statue with the St. Joseph tag.       

COMMENT: NOT THE LIVING DOG, OF COURSE.               

The Good Dogma Company was founded based on the philosophy that dog lovers have a different kind of good karma. Kensy, a rescue dog, is here to help home sellers get the job done with his To The RESCUE Home Seller's Kit.                      

COMMENT: ALSO RESCUES THE COMPANY.                     

Noticing all the 'For Sale' signs on the drive home with rescue dog,  the concept was born.    Here's how it works. You get a dog statue, doggy bag, and a card that explains what to do. Similar to St. Joseph, you bury the statue and after you sell your house unearth it. Take it with you to your new home and display it prominently, or near the treat jar, as a way to thank man's best friend who made it all possible.                        

COMMENT: WITH THE TREATS LEFT OUT FOR A STATUE, THIS IS ALSO A GOOD WAY TO DEMONSTRATE FOR ANY VISITORS TO YOUR HOME THAT YOU ARE A NUTCASE.                      

"Never mind the dog, BEWARE the owner." #words

Lack of #progress report on Gizmo's re-#housebreaking

Lack of progress report on re-#housebreaking Gizmo:

        Two weeks without a mistake, two weeks when Gizmo did not urinate in the closet off the master bedroom.  (Now, why oh why does he only have “Accidents” there?  Why did he choose that one spot, amid our clothes, to make small wet spots?)

        During that two weeks, we began to get a bit sloppy – or more trusting – and did not keep him on a leash (or, more politically correct, tethered) for most if not all the day.  He still went in his cage at night and when we went out during the day or evening.

        We carefully watched him for signs that he wanted to go out.  His slightest nod towards the back door triggered an almost-fireman’s leap into action: grab the treats, take him out, wait for him to urinate, offer him a treat as a way to affect his behavior.  Positive enforcement seemed to work a lot better than  shouting at him, trying to push his face in his mistake or attempting to make him feel guilty (“Why are you doing this to us?”).  

        As suggested by readers of this blog, we checked with our vet to see if he had a kidney or bladder infection.  The vet said that his behavior (only peeing when we are away, etc.) seemed to indicate that Gizmo had control of his bladder, which he would not have if he had an infection.

        Then the vet said, “Of course, if you want to, we could do a urinanalysis and a blood test to completely rule out any infection and to establish a base line for future tests.”  MY TRANSLATION: THE VET  COULD DO A LOT OF TESTS, THAT WOULD ADD CONSIDERABLY TO HIS BOTTOM LINE, BUT NOT REVEAL MUCH, IF ANYTHING, ABOUT WHY GIZMO PEES IN THE CLOSET.

        Everything was going along rather well.  Gizmo had returned to being the perfect pet, until…

        There was a small, but oddly persistent “urine“ spot in our closet.  We’re not sure exactly when Gizmo did that (or why?).  We reacted with intense disapproval, meaning we barely looked at Gizmo for about an hour after we found the spot, an action that probably hurt us much more than it did our dog.

        Why do dogs forget their earlier training and what can we do to help them remember?

        “I would recommend to those persons who are inclined to stagnate, whose blood is beginning to thicken sluggishly in their veins, to try keeping four dogs, two of which are puppies.”  Elizabeth von Arnum

#Dog/human: who sleeps with whom?

Steve Dale     My Pet World, Tribune Media Services

Q: Do I sleep with my dog, or does my dog sleep with me? -- C.J., Cyberpace

     A: Now I know what philosophy majors do with their degrees; they ask questions like this!

COMMENT: WHOEVER SLEEPS WITH WHATEVER, BOTH OF YOU WAKE UP WITH FLEAS.

I'd rather sleep right here, thank you

        A:  More dog owners than ever, 44 percent, share their beds with their canine friends, according to American Pet Products Association. Here's my take on the issue. Ultimately, these are our beds, which we allow our dogs to share (or in some cases, the dogs insist on sharing). Rarely do I hear about people who sleep in their dog's beds. Therefore, I'd I say my dog sleeps with me. 

        COMMENT: ANYONE WHO SLEEPS IN THEIR DOG’S BED HAS TO BE REALLY SMALL.

      “Cats are smarter than dogs. You can't get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.”   Jeff Valdez

#Dogs #Welcome: the letter that says it all

Except for an occasional whizz in the closet, I should be allowed in any hotel in the land.        A man wrote a letter to a small hotel in a Midwest town he planned to visit on his vacation. He wrote: I would very much like to bring my dog with me. He is well-groomed and very well behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?"      An immediate reply came from the hotel owner, who wrote:  "SIR: I've been operating this hotel for many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal towels, bedclothes, silverware or pictures off the walls. I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly.         And I've never had a dog run out on a hotel bill. Yes, indeed, your dog is welcome at my hotel. And, if your dog will vouch for you, you're welcome to stay here, too."

          “I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who have not got the guts to bite people themselves.”   August Strindberg

#Dog finds #panties, ends human relationship

THE SUN: I knew my best mate had slept with my fiancé When I found her knickers in the dog baske

WHEN the other woman turns out to be your best friend the heartache of any break-up is magnified.  But what if you're the one who has fallen in love with a mate's fiancé?

Manchester pals Simone Hinchey, 39, and Sharon Brierly, 29, had their friendship ripped apart when waitress Sharon fell for Simone's husband-to-be Andy Duffy, 36


Simone's story


I met Andy in summer, 2007. We had a holiday romance in #Spain and when we got back he moved in with me, we were madly in love. 

COMMENT: BEWARD OF SPANISH ROMANCES.

He proposed at Christmas 2010 in a pub and I was over the moon. Sharon congratulated me and I said: "You can be my chief bridesmaid."

COMMENT: PUB PROPOSAL?  WILL THIS RELATIONSHIP LAST??

We were really close, I'd known her for years through work. We did things together like shopping and nights out.   We were both jokers and aimed to buy each other the most outrageous presents, like novelty underwear or silly things from Ann Summers.

COMMENT: JUST TWO GIRLS BUYING EACH OTHER SILLY UNDERWEAR.  IT IS NOT A GUY THING.

Just weeks before Andy proposed I'd got her a pair of black knickers with rude words written across the front. She'd laughed.

COMMENT: BUYING UNDERWEAR WITH RUDE WORDS = FIRST MISTAKE.

Our dog Tyson is a hoarder and will pick anything up and put it in his basket. I found the knickers I had bought Sharon in his basket, in the bedroom Andy and I shared.

COMMENT: 2^ND MISTAKE: NAMING DOG TYSON.  3^RD MISTAKE: GETTING A DOGGIE HOARDER.   4^TH MISTAKE: BUYING THOSE “KNICKERS.”

In all the time I'd known Sharon she'd never had a relationship.

COMMENT:  5^TH MISTAKE: 29 AND NEVER IN A RELATIONSHIP? GET A DIFFERENT FRIEND.

The thought of him cheating, let alone with my best friend, made me feel physically sick. I needed to know if the unthinkable had happened and the two people closest to me were betraying me.

COMMENT: DID YOU GIVE THE PANTY-FINDING DOG A TREAT?  DID YOU, AT LEAST, SAY, “GOOD DOGGIE”?  OR, WITH ALL YOUR UPSET, DID YOU FORGET THE DOG?

     "A dog without teeth will also attack a bone."  Yiddush proverb.