Welcome to this week’s edition of Follow-Up Friday, the post where I highlight reader’s comments, answer questions and generally just wrap up my week.

You Make Me Smile – October 4, 2015

Meagan and Merlin said, “Merlin knows the word “walk” so u can’t say it out loud or he cries and won’t leave u alone. If he hears the keys jingle or I put on my shoes that’s another tip off.”

Oh, poor little guy, that would probably break my heart.

Cupcake said, “I watch Mom like a hawk, every minute of the day. Nothing rings a bell, so everything that happens is a total surprise to me.”

Oh Cupcake, I think you are a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for. And you’re funny too. Has anyone ever told you that?

Taryn said, “Of course, dogs love a routine and they figure out the pattern pretty quickly. In the morning I have my coffee (before anything else, of course!), tidy the kitchen, read emails,etc., give the boys their joint / periodontal and then feed them. As soon as they are done eating (you know, in like one second, two at the most), I say “OK, I’m going to get my clothes on”…..the second I say it, Jimmy hauls upstairs ahead of me, watches me get dressed, and then hauls back downstairs to the back door. He knows those words mean the morning walk is about to begin!…Poor Wilson, who is now 90% deaf, watches Jimmy to get his cues.”

That totally stinks about Wilson, but thankfully he has Jimmy to get his cues from. Isn’t it funny how they understand certain words? Like I can casually say to Sampson, it’s dinner time and he books tail!

Mary Ann said, “Every time I put my tennis shoes on, Lila thinks we’re going for a walk.”

My shoes use to give it away too!

Jan said, “I have walking shoes, but not walking pants. Have I missed something? What are walking pants? Does everyone have some but me?”

Ha ha ha, no I don’t think you are missing out on anything. I have one pair of pants I wear when I walk the dogs. These pants have many pockets that are deep enough for all the stuff I bring, they are also old so I don’t mind getting dog slime on them. Because when you are walking the D-Dog and using treats, your hands are getting wet and you will be wiping them many times. Hey it beats having to bring a towel. 😉

Sophie said, “The very last thing I do is put on my walking shoes and then his harness and leash. The second he sees me touch my walking shoes, he goes ballistic. Once his leash is on, he walks himself to the front door with the leash in his mouth, hopping on one foot and then the other until I open the door and we are off to smell the world!”

THAT is adorable. I know another dog that carries his leash and I find it to be one of the cutest things ever!

Jackie Bouchard said, “I blogged about this with Rita – she sniffs our pants. She knows the sound of a leg working it’s way through the fabric of shorts/pants and as soon as she hears that sound, she comes running and sniffs what I’m putting on. She knows the smell of my “nice” jeans means I’m going out and no walk. Ears go down, head goes down and she goes back to bed. But my walking shorts or yoga pants – she knows they smell like walkie time and her tail starts to wag!”

Mine don’t usually sniff my pants, but I do think they recognize them. 🙂 Maybe those particular pants smell like the outside and Rita knows that. 🙂

Faithfully Yours…The Tour

Good luck to all of you who are entering to win a copy and happy reading to all of you who already have yours. Let me know how you like it.

Spice Up Your Walk – Walk Your Dog Week

Jen Gabbard said, “What I didn’t expect this early though was my dumbass neighbor sitting up in his deer fort already – so there goes the backyard trail til next year. It’s pretty spooky walking in the woods when you know there’s some idiot with a loaded gun out there (and Laika happens to look a little deer like..)”

I feel for you. We have one of those up where we walk too. AND like Laika, Sampson happens to look sort of deerish. I do have orange vests for the dogs to wear and try and keep them on leash especially in that particular area. I can also get quite bitchy when I walk there and will sometimes yell, “I’m walking two dogs….a Chocolate and a Golden.” In my mind it serves two purposes, one it alerts the hunter, but I’m also hoping it scares off the deer and saves them from being shot. ‘-)

Monika said, “At age 10, Sam needs to keep moving to keep his joints lubed (what am I saying…at my age I NEED to keep moving so the parts will continue to work!) so we’re religious about the twice a day thing. Walking daily makes all the difference in the world with my demeanor and I’m sure his too (I’ve been told I’m very crabbish when I don’t get a good brisk walk and/or a cup of coffee every morning). The night walk allows for more investigation and more reading of pee-mail on Sam’s part so we invariably go much farther. But we both live for those times! 😉”

Well  rarely get my coffee before my morning walk, but I reckon I can be quite crabby too. Because unless we have an encounter, most of the time those walks really help me shake off the shit of the day. 🙂

Emma said, “We walk 2 hours or so a day in 2-3 walks. Our long 1+ hour walk (sometimes for Bailie it is a run) is never the same route more than once a week, the afternoon walk is the same short path, and the evening walk rotates between 4 or so routes. Mom doesn’t like going the same way all the time either.”

It’s nice to change things up, isn’t it? Sampson can’t do the long walks anymore, but I know Delilah can. Sometimes if I have some extra time, I’ll drop him off and let her keep going, but it really hurts my heart to leave him home. The look on his face…

Jana Rade said, “We walk our dogs at least twice a day every day. Cookie needs at least three hours of activity daily. She usually doesn’t need anything to spice it up, the little critters usually keep her busy enough. ”

That’s a lot of walking my friend. How do you find the time? And yes, I can see how the critters would keep her busy.

In Over My Head – Barks and Bytes

You all are such amazing, supportive friends. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have you all in my corner. Some days when I’m walking the dogs by myself, I feel so alone, and knowing you all are there pulling for me, really helps.

I’d like to thank you all for the wonderful, kind and thoughtful comments. And also those of you who reached out to me via Facebook and text. Really I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you all.

And since this post is already QUITE long, I’m going to be responding to the comments directly on this post. Just give me some time though, I had a meeting last night and was rushing to get this post finished and I have to visit all the blog hoppers. PLUS I’m planning a day in NYC with my daughter and my niece.

Except I am going to respond to this one because after all Genevieve’s comment is the one that gave me the original idea

Genevieve said, “Aarrgh. I didn’t look at in-over-your-head from the point of view of the early morning chariot driver. Yikes! I was looking at it from your readers’ point of view – flat out hilarious – most often the best laugh of the day – like Lucy. It sounds fun and funny when you tell it, but if the dogs are having fun and the neighbors are having fun and you’re not having fun, then it’s time for a new approach.”

THAT is exactly how I took it and really,  I WANT you to find my stories humorous. That is exactly how I try and write them. I want people who are struggling with their dogs to know they are not alone. I want them to see that raising dogs doesn’t have to mean you are perfect and that your dogs don’t have to be perfect either.  Truthfully I’m HONORED to be mentioned in the same sentence as Lucy, that woman was a comic genius. And yes, much like Lucy I tend to think fast on my feet, and I often times get the same hilarious results that she did. Most times I really can laugh at the antics I find myself and my dogs in. And I did try to make that post a bit humorous, I mean picture me driving a chariotless chariot. That’s what it must have looked like to an observer. It’s also why I added the GIF in, to bring some humor to the table.

I really don’t want you to feel badly about that comment. I’ve been wanting to share this story and you provided the perfect way for me to do it Thank you Genevieve, thank you very much!

And to the rest of you that laughed at that? Well good for you! I’m not mad and I’m hoping someday soon to be laughing at it too.  But it probably won’t be today. 😉

That’s it for me folks, have a wonderful weekend.