Moles need killing, even in winter!
Author: Bitey Dog
Howlaween / Magenta
To Geordie’s dismay, his streak of having manly Halloween costumes ran out when I decided to dress him as Magenta from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. (At least he was a good sport when I went to take his picture.)
Dog Days of Summer – A Poem by Geordie the Dog
Be careful when you close that
big white fridge door.
I’m lying quite near
on the cool kitchen floor.
I don’t want you dropping
stuff on my poor head.
I’m really alive
though I look like I’m dead.
I’m missing the ice and the snow
and the slush
of Winter as you scoot me around by my tush.
I think that this Summer,
I’ve paid my “heat dues”
Now how ’bout we go on an
Alaskan cruise!!!
Sleepy Puppy
Soft puppy,
Warm puppy,
Little ball of fur.
Happy puppy,
Sleepy puppy,
Grrr, Grrr, Grrr.
Things To Do On Saturday (or “Why I Am Such A Good Boy”)
These events took place over the course of one weekend when Bitey had just turned four months old. This was before I had a camera, and it took me pages and pages to scribble out all of the misery my puppy put me through in those two days!
Find the Biscuit
Coming up with activities to keep Geordie occupied during his first winter proved to be challenging. He never has been the type of pup to play by himself. He would much rather have someone else there with him. (This can be exhausting when your puppy is awake 20 hrs a day!) Our family dog loved to play “Find the Biscuit” and would search and search until he found every treat we had hidden. Hoping to buy myself a few minutes of peace and quiet, I introduced Geordie to the game.
Since Geordie wasn’t good at Sit/Stay yet, I had my Mom hold him in one room while I hid a biscuit in another. After we released him to search, we sat down where we could see him and had a chat.
Geordie searched for a few minutes, then came over to my Mom, made eye contact, and made a noise that had the cadence of “I dunno”. He clearly wanted her to tell him where his treat was. Without gesturing, she said, “It is over on the register, behind the end table”. Geordie paused for a moment to think, got an “Aha!” look on his face, then ran behind the end table to the register and grabbed the biscuit. The two of us were completely stunned. Until now, we had no idea that this little 8 month old puppy had the linguistic skills to understand that sentence. So surprised, we kept jumping around yelling, “He knew what we were saying! He understood!”
We didn’t realize it, but that was the first indication that we had a puppy Noam Chomsky on our hands.
Biscuit Dust
Geordie is really fond of Breath Buster biscuits, and when he finished a package all that remained were very fine crumbs. Since he liked the biscuits so well, I figured he would enjoy the crumbs, so I poured them into his bowl and let him help himself.
I didn’t give it another thought until later I saw him sitting up on his haunches, using his paws like a bunny washing her face. What?!? Geordie doesn’t wash his face that way! Upon investigation, I found that the biscuit dust I had given Geordie had turned into a paste and stuck securely to the roof of his mouth. I wanted to use my finger to gently dislodge it for him, but he would not let me put one in his mouth. (The look on his face said that he thought I was going to try to take the food from him.)
Hmm…what can I use? I know, his toothbrush! I grabbed his toothbrush (and promised him that could still eat the food) and carefully pried the paste loose. I thought it was interesting that Geordie would allow a tool in his mouth (but not a hand), and it made me grateful that I had gotten him used to it.
Today’s lesson: if you give your puppy biscuit dust, make sure it is in tiny quantities so it doesn’t stick to his mouth.
The Adventures of Bitey Dog 