Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Gather Around the Water Bowl

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Delilah is a water bowl whore. Hubby thinks it’s because she doesn’t get a lot of water when she drinks, I think she’s using the water to make herself feel full. I don’t know who’s right, (although I do suspect it’s me) 🙂  All I know is just before and just after meal time, if you put a gallon of water in the bowl, she will drink it.

Because Delilah thinks the water bowl is the Field of Dreams, when we put water in it, we only put in as much as we want her to drink.

Once the initial gorging is over, you can add more water, but you want to make sure a good ten minutes or so have past.

Every morning when I’m washing up the dog’s breakfast dishes, I wash their water bowl too, and then I put just enough water in it, to let Delilah quench her thirst, without drinking too much.

Because of this ritual, there have been mornings where I forgot to add more water, and I’ve actually gone to work and then realized I didn’t fill the bowl. I’ve had to call my sister to come over and give the dogs water.

I’ve written before about how Sampson handles the situation when there is no water in the bowl. Most times he digs at the bowl with his paw. Since it’s a metal bowl, his nails make a definite sound on it.

I think his method might depend on how thirsty he is, because most times he waits patiently by the bowl for someone to fill it.

Friday morning I went down to see mom without putting more water in the bowl.

Sometimes he tips the bowl over.

MOM! The Dog-Gone water bowl is empty again!!

Do you remember the time his ear was resting in the water?

This photo was also taken when he was sporting his Zombie eye.

No matter what he’s doing around that water bowl, odds are, I’m laughing about it.

You make me laugh, or smile. The sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do that make me laugh or smile.

What did your pet do this week that made you laugh or smile?

 

There Is No Place You Can Hide

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Dogs are creatures of habit. It is very easy for them to fall into routines. For my dogs the two big routines are eating, and walks.

Meals (breakfast and dinner) are twice per day, and approximately 12 hours apart.  There is one snack, and that is given at night around 9:00 pm.

Other tidbits of food are doled out randomly. When I’m fixing their Kongs at dinnertime, they each get a small piece of pineapple. If I’m cutting up watermelon, they get a few pieces. After Delilah gets her eye ointment applied she gets a goodie. When they plop down for us to eat, they get a treat. After we finish eating they get a few treats. If SOMEONE has been very good, sitting while I’m in the kitchen, she gets a treat. (By default, Sampson does too, because he’s NOT in the kitchen.)

My point is, my dogs know when food will be doled out by the Mama, and when it’s a hopeless cause.

Of course, Labrador Retrievers being notorious for eating just about anything and everything, know how to keep track of the foods.  Delilah is textbook Labrador when it comes to this particular trait.

During the week, I get up, fix their food, walk the dogs, get ready for work, feed the dogs, and wash the dishes. Lately I’ve been giving them each a banana chip before I leave. That’s the last bit of food that is handed out in the morning.

Until that list bit of food is doled out, I’ve got a shadow. Mary thought she had a problem with that frickin’ lamb, but that bit of fluff only followed her to school.

My ‘lamb’ follows me into the bathroom.

Why are you sitting down? Pull up your pants, there’s food to dispense.

I’m laughing about it now, but trust me, there’s no laughing when you’re trying to get some sirius business done and you can’t breathe.

You make me laugh, or smile, the sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do, that bring a smile to my face, or a laugh to my lips.

What did your pet do that made you smile or laugh this week?

What a Goofy Dog

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One of the rules that is fairly strongly enforced in our house, is that the dogs must lie down while we eat dinner.

We started off with mats and used the “place” command, but a mat is just one more thing I have to wash, and we already use throw rugs for dispensing treats, so the mats just went by the wayside. Instead, we let the dogs lie in front of our chairs while we’re eating.

Well in Sampson’s case, it’s wherever he wants to lie. Sometimes he stays in the bedroom, or in the kitchen, but usually at some point during the meal, he’ll get up and wander into the living room.

AND in Delilah’s case, she’s never quite mastered the “place” command. She likes a position where she can monitor your food intake, and be ready to pounce, on the off chance you happen to drop some food.  There’s usually a bit of yelling (on Hubby’s part, not mine) because she just refuses to lie down when Hubby is home. When Hubby is not home, she lays down just fine for me, and I release her when I’m done eating. And yes, I do have a little smug superiority regarding it, but we shan’t tell Hubby, okay?

Usually we are watching TV while we’re eating, which is why the dogs are in the living room.

As I said, Sampson is the easy going one, and at least three times a week, after we’ve finished eating, we look down to see him with all four paws in the air, or a big smile on his face, and he’s just waiting for some loving.

Last Tuesday night, I looked down to see this.

Thankfully, I had my phone handy and quickly snapped a picture. Of course, then we laughed because really, 1) look at the smile on his face, 2) THOSE EARS! and 3) check out the way his back legs are crossed.

Honestly, these dogs really do make me laugh every single day.

You make me smile, or laugh. The sweet, funny, loving things my dogs do that bring a smile to my face, or a laugh to my lips.

What did your pet do that made you smile this week?

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