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 Laugh – October 18, 2015

How does this even happen?

Cupcake said, “Usually when I roll around, I come up wearing goose poop. Mom says the word, “Gross.” That means I did good… Right…? ”

If you think it means you did good Cupcake, then it certainly does.

Sue said, “He looks like one sexy athlete with that towel draped around his neck.”

He almost has a coy/sly little look about him doesn’t he? I can just about see the twinkle in his eye.

Meagan and Merlin said, “Just today i posted on fb a pic of Merlin sitting with his head covered in a lace curtain lol. When he walks past curtains or towels, he has to rub along them before he lays down. Not the weirdest thing he’s done tho, for some reason after i wash my hair he rubs his face up against it and tries to roll in my hair.”

Ah ha ha!! That’s priceless, he must love the smell of your shampoo/conditioner. Hey be thankful, Delilah likes to roll in dirty wash cloths.

Jan said, “My son always says, “If we can make mom laugh we can get by with anything.” Sampson gets this.”

Your son is very smart, that’s the rule in my house too and yes, Sampson clearly understands this.

Emma said, “Nice work Sampson! How did you manage to get it on you so nicely?”

I’d like to know how he even managed to get it on him, never mind how nicely it’s draped! LOL I think he must have rolled really fast in order for it to wrap like that.

Jan K said, “That’s so cute…he looks like a prize fighter! I’ve had mine run away from being dried with the towel still on top of them!”

Oh my, I forgot yours don’t like the towel. LOL

Jackie Bouchard said, “He’s so cute. I agree with Jan K – he does look like a prize fighter! Rita has never done that, but she cracks me up how she rolls around in her bed in the evening when we are watching TV. She’ll go over and dive into her bed and roll on her back and she squirms around and makes these funny grunting noises, and then she’ll just freeze, with her legs all up in the air. She’s such a nut. We always have to pause the TV and watch. (It’s more entertaining than anything on there!)”

I thought we were the only ones that paused the TV to watch the dogs! LOL We love watching Sampson and Delilah when they play. It’s just so joyful.

A Do Over

What’s a douche bag?

Genevieve said, “I could use SO many do overs SO many times each day with SO many people in SO many situations. But it’s a fine line between being easy-going and just really not caring AT ALL. I have crossed that line and have reached the age where I flat out don’t give a s&#% about most things. Nothing is a matter of life or death …unless it is actually a matter of LIFE or DEATH. Barring that, I have moved on…”

I really wish I could reach that, “I don’t give a shit” phase. Honestly, I care too much about what other people think of me.

Callie, Shadow and Ducky’s Mom said, “The guy is an asshole, plain and simple. And not worth your time. BUT I understand how you feel; and I can’t wait to read about your revenge plot. 🙂 It will make for some fun reading, with lots of laughs and smiles, I’m sure!”

I’m pretty sure it will be fun, and funny and hopefully you all will be laughing your asses off. At the least maybe a good chuckle now and then.

Mary said, “All-The-Time. And I worked with a gal for years that was so damn funny. But she was great at open mouth, insert foot. She use to say she had a shoe store in her mouth.”

That’s a great line! I don’t have any good lines for putting my foot in my mouth, except for, “I’m sorry, that was totally insensitive of me…”

Emma said, “Mom wanted to type some bad words but I stopped her. My mom is always too polite, but she wishes she would be able to blurt out her true feelings. Poor Katie has so much trouble walking, and in her old age, sometimes just poops with no warning on a walk. She pooped on a neighbor’s lawn one day, Mom was picking it up and the mean lady yells out the door some crap about how much money she spends on her lawn and how this poop will ruin it, blah, blah, blah. Mom just said sorry and walked on. Now she refuses to speak to that lady but wishes she had given her a speech on dealing with a senior dog and all the issues and how she did not pee, only pooped and it was picked up within seconds. The world would be a much nicer place without many of the people in it.”

You should never stop your Mom from typing some bad words on THIS blog. You know this is a safe place for that. LOL That WAS super mean for that lady to say, I’m surprised Mom wasn’t tempted to throw the poop at THE LADY!

Earl Lover said, “I agree! Especially with comebacks… you sit there with an open mouth for 10 seconds, the person walks away again, THEN you think so an amazing comeback for them. Cringes!”

Isn’t that always the way? I think we should start carrying little cheat cards, so we can come up with quick and witty comebacks!

Elaine said, “I’m always nice too and later wish I would have said all the witty things that I didn’t think of in the heat of the moment. But then I think of how miserable those people must be in their lives and with their families. I ALMOST feel bad for them because they’ve got to be pretty unhappy to get so bent out of shape about the little things in life. Then…I smile. :-)”

Yeah…there is that. I’m usually so surprised at the meanness that I don’t think about how miserable they must be as people to treat others so poorly.

It’s Picture Day – Barks and Bytes

Cupcake said, “Wait. What? How are these called pictures without any dogs in them. This is crazy! ”

It’s shameful isn’t it? And I call myself a dog blogger. 😉

Emma said, “We like the two moon and two planets one the best. Even though Mom has a fancy camera, shots in the dark only really work with her cheap point and shoot. Now, we have to ask since we always wonder and never ask…do you spell siriously this way on purpose?”

Thanks Emma, I really like that photo myself, but I like the one with the house silhouetted too…BUT I’m also a big fan of the woods. Sigh, so many options. As for your question, I spell seriously that way on purpose for two reasons, 1) Sirius is also known as “The Dog Star” residing in the constellation Canis Major, it’s the brightest star in the sky, since this is a dog blog…:-) 2) Sirius is one of my favorite characters from the Harry Potter books, which is one of my favorite series. (That third light that sort of looks like it’s in the tail, could very well be Sirius. I need to get that app for my phone that tells you what the stars are.)

Jan K said, “I think the 3rd one with the moon is my favorite. Even with my fancy new camera, I haven’t attempted any nighttime (or early morning!) photos. I barely know how to take normal pictures and get them to come out good yet…LOL.”

Awe now that’s not true Jan! Your pictures are great!! I’ll let you in on a little secret, I just turn the dial and snap the photo. Sometimes I get lucky. 😉

That’s it for me my friends, have a wonderful weekend! 

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

I’m really watching you…get the pants on!

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.

Gif courtesy of Giphy.com source Reddit

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.