Dogs Imitate Owners!

Oh my! Experiments that dogs imitate their owners, does that mean Petey acts like us? Oh, the horror!! John & I apologize to every one we have ever known for being so demanding.
http://http://news.discovery.com/animals/pets-dogs-imitate-people.html

A Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin Update

I've blogged several times about Petey and the Sunday morning muffins. Here is the first one (sorry I couldn't make the link thing work) How he loved them and then suddenly stopped. http://lifeofpetey.blogspot.com/2009/03/petey-lemon-poppy-seed-muffins.html

About 16 months ago, I gave up the lemon poppy seed muffin routine too. I decided to cut out those carbs, at least temporarily. Last week, the muffins looked and smelled so good that I decided to treat myself to one. Petey happened to be in the kitchen as I got the muffin out of the tin, and galloped back to the bedroom. I thought the possibility existed that he wanted to share the muffin like the old days, but didn't think it was a very strong one. I was wrong. He was up on the bed and ready to eat by the time I got there. I was a little concerned because I'd just wrapped the LPSM in a paper towel and did not have a plate for him as he'd demanded towards the end of that era. It didn't matter. He was glad to share the muffin with me, even if it was crumbs on a paper towel. John and I both laughed that he remembered this little escapade and enjoyed it so much. I considered it a one time thing for myself, and really didn't consider if Pete thought it was a one time thing or not.

This morning, I walked into the kitchen and John immediately told me how he didn't know what was wrong with Petey. That Petey had been driving him crazy all morning. I thought little of it because that isn't an unusual occurrence. I got something to drink and started back to the bedroom to get ready for church. Petey galloped down the hall, passed me, and jumped on the bed in eager anticipation. I wondered if he was expecting a repeat of the LPSM from last week when he seemed so energized, but I went on with my morning routine. He got out of the bed and sniffed around the kitchen and looked at me quite forlornly. That was the confirmation I needed.

I called to John to say I thought Petey wanted another muffin, so John brought him one on a plate. Petey would not get on the bed to eat it, so I came in to the bedroom to coax him on to the bed, and he immediately jumped up there, but would not eat until I got on the bed. I had to put small crumbs on the plate too. He gobbled them right up. Perhaps, we've created a new Sunday morning LPSM routine.

It is hard to know with Petey though. He likes his routines, but once he thinks he's been figured out, he'll change. Stay tuned. I'll post an update next Sunday as to if he ate one!

Petey's Nose

I've blogged before about Petey's nose. He gives us kisses by touching us on the back of the leg with it. He communicates with snorts & sneezes. If he can't get his whole body under something, he has to at least bury his nose. If he is being ignored, which to Petey means having 100% of our attention all of the time, he'll rest his nose on whatever body part is handy.

He also uses his nose to open doors. I expect most every dog owner has seen their pet come up to a door that is ajar and use their nose to push it the rest of the way open. I know Petey does it because he's moved from room to room while no one is home and often doors are closed to facilitate air flow. I've also seen Petey do it, only he doesn't know I've seen him do it. This is the strange thing about it. If I am nearby, he won't use his nose to move the door. He looks at me with his pitiful face because he must leave the room right away and there is no way for him to exit with the door almost closed.

Just this morning, I was in the bedroom getting ready for work when Petey decided he needed to leave the room. Why? I don't know. No one else was there. It was vital that Petey leave and leave right then. He came to me, and walked to the door, his standard mode of communication. I knew he could leave, the door really was only about half way closed. I told him that he could do it without my assistance, but he wouldn't. I didn't push it with him. Some times if he's told something, he seems to understand. The possibility existed that if I explained to him he could do it, he would. He didn't, so I opened the door for him. It is just another Petey oddity.

Lonely Petey

I just got back from a trip to Raleigh. My Nashville family (mother, sister & 2 nephews) spent a few days with my Raleigh family (sister, BIL, nephew, niece & foster nephew). It was a blast. The Nashville contingent surprised the Raleigh contingent, except for the brother-in-law who was in on the plan.

While we were partying like it was 1999 in Raleigh, John & Petey were lonely. John knew where I was and when I'd be back. I explained it to Petey too, but he didn't like it. So, Tuesday night, the first night we were gone, he camped out in front of the bedroom door. Does that dog know me or what?!?! He knew that when I got home I'd be going to bed, and I wasn't going to get by him! John said there was no way he could coax Petey to any other place in the house. By Wednesday night, he was resigned to the fact that I was gone. He came to pick me up at the airport Thursday evening, so all was well by bedtime.

When Petey wasn't pining away missing me, he was out sunning himself in this glorious heat. Petey and I are the only two creatures in the south east that are happy right now! Here are a few shots of him.

Patriotic Petey

Petey is a very patriotic pooch and wishes everyone a happy 4th of July. He just wishes that the celebrations didn't involve such loud displays of patriotism. Fireworks sound a lot like thunder and any loud noise is cause for alarm. Have a happy celebration, just don't expect Petey to participate if it involves anything loud & booming!

Poisoning Petey

This morning John thought that maybe we had poisoned Petey. It is Petey's worst nightmare. He is very, very careful about what goes in his mouth and now the two people he trusted the most (and that isn't much) just might have done the deed.

How in the world did such a thing happen? Remember the flood in Nashville back in early May? It resulted, of all things, in water restriction for about a month. One of the ways we conserved water in our house was to plug the tub when we took our quick, quick showers and use that water later to flush the toilets. It was a nice civic minded thing to do, but I would not recommend it under normal circumstances. John & I believe that the soap or something else in used shower water caused horrible water rings in both toilets. We have scrubbed and scrubbed yet they won't go away, at least not entirely. John thought maybe if we scrubbed them one more time and then put one of those tablets in the tank that continually cleans perhaps they would go away. So, I picked up two while I was out yesterday. Neither one of us considered Petey in this decision. Our big mistake.

This morning when we got up Petey was all lethargic, clingy and whiny. We couldn't figure out what was going on with him. He even turned his nose up at his beloved bacon treats. Needless to say we were concerned, but even a casual reader of this blog knows that Petey is the drama dog of all drama dogs. The most common reason for Petey's discomfort is a crick in his neck. His posture generally indicated that as well. We tried to make him comfortable and left for church. We got in big trouble for that. We got a barking like we haven't got in a long time.

We were discussing Petey's very serious condition on the way to church, when John suddenly remembered that each of us had caught Petey drinking out of the toilet two or three weeks ago. This had never been a problem before. In fact, the first time I heard Petey drinking from the toilet I couldn't figure out what the noise was. I thought perhaps something in the toilet had broken. I went into the bathroom to investigate this unusual plumbing malady and discovered Petey on his hind legs, getting a nice long drink. He quit as soon as he was busted. I caught him again a day or two later. When I mentioned it to John he said he'd caught him a couple of times to so we set out to break him of it before it became a habit.

Petey responds very well to our words. If we seem upset, it is very distressing to him. Once he figures out what is upsetting us, he'll stop. We thought we'd broke him fairly quickly and easily. Petey is smart and we are diligent. But, all through church I had to wonder what we'd find when we came home. I didn't know if you could induce vomiting on a dog, or even how. Should vomiting be induced in this situation? Would it do more harm coming back up? Had it been in his system too long?

Petey met us at the back door as eagerly as he usually does as if there had never been a problem. Since then, he's been a little draggy and hasn't wanted to shake his head much. We're back to our original diagnosis of a crick in the neck. He probably slept wrong somehow. He's also back to wolfing down the treats. John & I have closed the toilet lids too, just in case...

Petey, The Protector - NOT

So, Friday night Petey and I were headed to bed, one of our favorite activities. The light in the hall and bedroom were both off, but that doesn't usually matter. All we had to do was keep walking straight and we'd get to the bedroom and the light switch. Petey was leading the way like he usually does, when suddenly he seemed to stumble. I stopped to see what happened when a cricket jumped on my leg, so I screamed. It was more of a scream from startle than fear, but a scream nonetheless. John hurried to us to see what the problem was, but by then I realized that we were all safe. And that Petey's stumble was probably him trying to catch the cricket. By this time, maybe 2 seconds had passed. I turned to Petey to say we were OK and he was no where to be seen!! I called a couple of times but he didn't come. I decided he'd already gotten in the bed realizing that we were not in danger. He was not in the bed. He was in his box. His box is his ultimate safe place. Not only was he in his box, he was all the way back in his box and he was not coming out.

To give Petey the benefit of the doubt, he does not like loud noises so perhaps the scream upset him more than the cricket. We'll never know. We do know that he saved himself first. Alas...all the dreams we had for Petey to surpass Lassie in bravery have been dashed.