Another Petey Treat

Tuesday afternoon, John, Petey & I went to the bank. When the teller was about to send the receipts back, she asked if we would like a treat for our dog. John agreed even though we both knew he would have nothing to do with it.

When the tube came out, Petey was in John's lap before he could get the tube in the car. It was as if he understood the exchange and knew that a treat was in there for him. He put his nose down in there trying to get it out himself as if he'd never had a treat before.

Once he got it out, he was hugely disappointed. It isn't as if this is a new situation. It has happened before. Again, he held the treat in his teeth without letting his lips touch it. It looked like an old man with a cigar. He decided that the only course of action was to bury the treat. It took a while to find just the right spot inside the car, but finally he settled under the floor mat in the back seat. After the treat had been safely buried, he got in my lap and watched where we were going, with an expression on his face that said, "What treat? I know nothing about a treat."

We got home and went inside without getting the treat out of the car. I thought several times about going to get it but never at a time when I could, so the treat remained in the car.

On Thursday, Petey and I were alone in the car driving from our house in Green Hills to a destination north of town off of Dickerson Road. The best way to go is on the interstate and it was about 5:30. I questioned my sanity for even making the trip at that time of day on the interstate, much less making it with Petey, but it had to be done. We hadn't been on the road very long when I heard Petey scratching around in the backseat area. In a minute he hoped up in the front seat with his treat/stogie hanging out of his mouth. I had to laugh at him. I'd even forgotten about the treat by then, but not him.

It became quite important to him to find another, better place to bury the treat. It is a difficult task to find just the right place to bury a treat. He bounced and bounded from one place in the car to another, scratching and clawing, trying to make a hole. It could not be done. He briefly considered burying it in my purse but decided against it. I was laughing hard at him by this time and more than a little concerned about explaining the ensuing crash to John & the police. John might understand, but the police never would.

Then he got the idea to bury it under the front seat. That was beyond hilarious. A plastic grocery bag had found its way under the seat and it needed a lot of scratching and clawing. I could see Petey's rump and stubby little tail sticking out from under the seat but the rest of him was under that seat working as hard as he could. Then I began to wonder what would happen if Petey got stuck trying to get out from under the seat. Petey is the type of dog to panic first, ask questions later. I was vigilantly watching for breaks in the traffic in case I needed to pull to the shoulder, put on the flashers and pull Petey out from under the seat. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Nor did he bury the treat under there.

We got to our destination, and got John who drove us back home. Petey once again got the vile, nasty treat and began to look for a place to bury it. Maybe by this time, he was thinking it was like a bad penny, always turning up. I put it in the cup holder and closed it. Petey really didn't like that, so I got it back out and handed it to him. It got dropped between the seat & console. It took a while of coaxing, but I showed Petey that he could get it from under the seat. Once he figured out what I was saying he got the treat, and ATE IT! Problem solved, treat gone, we can all move on with our lives, right? Wrong.

Yesterday John & Petey came to get me at work. One the way home I noticed Petey scratching around in the back seat. I mentioned to John that I thought Petey was looking for his treat again, and John said he'd done that all the way to get me. I tried to explain to Petey that the treat wasn't in the car any more because he ate it. I think he had a hard time believing me because he knows he doesn't like those things. We made it home, and so far we haven't let Petey in the car today. We're not sure what might happen.

Hide 'N' Seek

One of John & Petey's favorite games to play is hide and seek. John is always the hider and Petey is always the seeker. Sometimes they play when John does not realize that they are playing, but most of the time they are both aware of the game.

Petey really does seem to enjoy finding John. Petey has is standard places where he looks for John particularly when John is not aware that he's playing yet. Petey goes to the recliner, the computer chair, the bathroom, John's side of the bed first before he begins the hunt in earnest. When John knows he's playing he is a very good hider. I've watched Petey plenty of times exhaust his little Petey brain of ideas of places to look, so he'll stand in a central location and put his nose up in the air. He has, more than once, found John by sniffing him out, literally!

When Petey finds John he always does his happy dance. He'll prance around and carry on almost as if John has been gone for days on end. John will rough house around with Petey for a couple of minutes and then go find another place to hide. This can sometimes take a while because Petey doesn't always, read 'ever', go to base and count to ten.

Until yesterday, this game has always been played in the house. John decided to kick it up a notch and hide from Petey while they were outside. John was walking back up the driveway from getting the mail and Petey ran ahead of him to get to the backdoor first. Petey is always the line leader in the house. Unfortunately, not everyone follows all the time. John detoured to the front porch.

Our front porch goes all the way across the front of the house and has a brick wall around the edge. It is about 8 steps up from the front yard. We often sit out on the front porch on pretty evenings, so Petey has been up there plenty of times. John went to the edge of the porch closest to the driveway, which is at the opposite end from where we swing/rock in the evenings.

When Petey got to the backdoor and John was no where in sight, the game was on. Petey came trotting back down the driveway and began the hunt. John watched as Petey looked all around the yard and walked up on the porch. Petey looked at the end where we sit, but never turned to see John at all. The wind must have been blowing the wrong way for him not to catch John's scent being that close. Petey went back down the steps and around to the driveway headed to the back door again. He really seemed to understand that they were playing their favorite game as he trotted around looking for John. He was not at all in distress or showing any signs of upset.

John watched Petey walk back & forth on the driveway a couple of times without ever looking up, so he decided to reveal himself by barking at Petey. Just as Petey got right below him on the driveway, which is several feet, he let out a big "WOOF!" Petey jerked his head up to the sound. His expression was one of suprise and joy. He couldn't understand how John had gotten on the porch, but was glad he found him. He immediately began his happy dance. He pranced and ran and the same time up to John on the porch. It was a great game made even better by being outside. This is great weather for playing outdoors too!

Petey's Reflection

We had one of the most glorious fall weekends ever this weekend. John, Petey and I spent as much as time as possible outside. On Saturday we were sitting outside near the garage. Petey was sitting in my lap and I was sitting at an angle with my back mostly to the garage, when I noticed Petey intently staring at something over my left shoulder. He was staring so hard, I had to look to see what had grabbed his attention. I quickly realized that he was seeing his reflection in the garage window. John was sitting across from me and also noticed what had captured Petey's attention.

So, he did what every sane dog owner in the world would do in this situation; he began to growl. Petey responded in kind. They sat growling for a while, and then Petey decided to launch an offensive by jumping off of my lap towards the window. It was a long enough leap that he didn't quite make it. He was barking madly now, so as the dog would know he was in charge, and ran over to the window. The window was too high for him to see into, so he got up on his hind legs to see in.

The dog was gone. He wasn't getting off that easily. Still all puffed up and ready for a rumble, Petey tore off behind the garage. I don't know why, Petey's been in the garage enough times to know where the door is. He circled the garage completely twice to secure the perimeter. Once he determined that we were all safe. He returned to my lap. He remained on high alert for a good while, but the dog never reappeared.