The dog on wheels

Our friend Bonnie is a dog on wheels.  She has not been feeling very well lately and she has to go to the vet a lot.  The vet said she shouldn't walk around, so her dad (Clever Wazza) made her a special chariot so that she can go places without walking .  Her mum just has to push the Bonniemobile, which is a girly pink, and off they go.
I might be able to put a picture here if Bonnie's mum says it is okay.
I hope Bonnie doesn't see any pussy cats or scrub turkeys that need immediate chasing or there might be some problems.  I know there would be if it were me in that chariot because a pussy cat must be chased.  That's a rule in my world and, as for turkeys, well, you know how I feel about them.  (Still sorry about that sore knee, Mummy.)  Perhaps Clever Wazza could motorize the Bonniemobile for those special chasing moments.  Just install a pedal or a pull device so that Bonnie could take off at speed after the offending cat/turkey.  Bonnie's mum would have to be on constant alert but mums are always ready for anything, aren't they?

But seriously, Heidi and I both hope that Bonnie gets better soon and that the chariot can be recycled.  Dogs aren't really meant to be on wheels, motorized or otherwise.
Get well soon, Bonnie Boo.

The turkey made me do it.

Mummy has a sore knee.  She fell over and banged it on the hard road.  There was blood coming out and she had to put a bandage on it when we came home. Heidi and I are very, very sorry and we are trying to tell Mum that we didn't mean it.
You see, we were walking along as usual, just minding everybody else's business, sniffing each blade of grass and every tree trunk when, guess what we saw?  A scrub turkey!  I think I have told you about them before.  Stupid birds!  Anyway, we saw it before Mum did and that was the problem.
Heidi froze and leaned to the right really hard and I pulled forward really hard and then back-tracked around behind Mum so I could push Heidi forward too.  Unfortunately that meant that the leash was tied around Mum's leg and, so when I pulled forward again, I pulled Mum over onto the hard, hard road.
The turkey didn't care.  He just wagged his tail and looked at us most boldly. 
Heidi was barking and I was squealing with excitement but we couldn't do anything because we were all tied up in a bundle with Mum.  By the time she managed to untangle us, the turkey had run away and Mum said we had to come home because of all the blood.

So now Mum has a sore knee and we didn't get a proper walk.  I don't think Mum is very happy with us.
Sorry, Mummy.  It was all that stupid turkey's fault.

Heidi's turn

Hello this is Heidi, the smaller brunette dog. 
Yesterday 29th October was my little sister Trudy's birthday.  We did not celebrate very much because Mum forgot to take the birthday bones out of the freezer so all that happened was a few extra pats.  A pretty poor show, if you ask me.  Anyway, today, the bones are on top of the microwave defrosting slowly.  Mum has to put things up high or inside the microwave to defrost them because Trudy can 'find' them otherwise.  As Troods has grown bigger so the defrostables have had to go higher.
She has taken chops off the bench, chicken breasts out of the sink, steaks from the back corner of the bench behind the coffee maker and even eye fillet out of the frying pan. That was a good trick.  She waited till Mum walked away from the cooker to talk to Dad and then quickly grabbed the meat.  It was hot so she dropped it on the floor and had to get a better grip before taking it outside to enjoy.  She didn't share with me though.  Pfft!!!  Mum and Dad were not impressed....not impressed at all.

So now the birthday bones are up on the microwave which is just too high for Trudy to reach.  She is lying on the kitchen floor trying to figure out how to get them and I am just waiting patiently.  It is a warm day so they won't take long to get soft enough for us to enjoy.

Happy Birthday, Troods!

Heidi is a scaredy cat.

Have I mentioned that my sister, Heidi, is a princess?  Well she is....and she is also a scaredy cat.  Last night was a bit showery so Heidi wouldn't even go outside for a pee because she doesn't like getting her paws wet.  When she absolutely had to go, she perched on the edge of the pathway and it was the fastest pee on record.  I just take my time and, if I get wet, then I just have a big shake and a roll when I come inside.  We have carpet inside so it is easy to get dry again. 

Then, later on, when it was bedtime, a loud storm came over and Heidi shot off the beanbag and went to hide in Mum's closet. I thought it was probably a good idea to go down there too.  I wasn't scared, of course, but I thought I should go and make sure that Mum and Heidi were alright.  (I am a big, brave guard dog and if I am shaking a bit, it's just because I am excited about having to protect everyone.)
So I lay down beside Mum's bed (she said she didn't need me to be on the bed) and it was just like when I was a little puppy and I used to sleep in a box beside Mum's bed.  Every so often she would reach down and stroke me.  I guess she was just checking to make sure I was still there if she needed me.
I'm glad I am sooo brave and not a scaredy cat like Heidi.

Barking

I like to bark.  Yes I do.  I like the sound of my own voice.  It can be soft and caring, deep and delightfully fearsome, high pitched and excited or fast and furious.  What a talented dog I am!!!!!
Barking is also a very useful thing.
It can be:-
a)  a way of announcing visitors...(okay with Mum if done in moderation)
b)  a way of scaring off intruders..(also okay with Mum)
c)  a way of talking to Bundy who lives next door..(.not so popular with Mum but allowed sometimes)
d) a way of showing that I'm frightened...(Mum understands this sort of bark)
e) a way of saying that dinner service is late..(not appreciated in the slightest by Mum)
f) a way to join in local dog conversation...(also not appreciated by Mum)
g) a way to announce boredom.....( also not appreciated by Mum)
h) a way to wake people when they are sleeping..(definitely not appreciated by Mum)

It seems to me that humans waste too much time rambling on with so many different sounds when a bark can satisfy so many purposes.  Once again I believe that dogs are far more evolved than humans despite what Mark says about opposable thumbs.

My Dad snores.

When I am asleep I have big dreams.  I dream about running and barking and chasing possums and playing with Heidi.  Sometimes, according to Mum, I make funny noises when I am dreaming...like little squeaks and barks or growls.  But the weirdest thing I have ever heard is the noise my Dad makes when he is sleeping.  He SNORES!!
Now, the other humans I know snore too.....even Mum snores (even if she says she doesn't)...but their
snores are whispers compared to Dad's snores.  Wow!  You can hear him rumbling away all the way down the hall. 
This interferes with my sleeping when I am on the mat near the patio door.  I like to lie there because I can keep an ear out for the possums running along the fence.  Last night the noise (of Dad not possums) became so annoying that I decided to find another place to sleep....somewhere comfortable with a view of the garden....somewhere like the spare room.  There is a nice big bed in there and I found that, if I positioned myself just right, I could see out into the garden to the left and also out onto the patio to the right.  Excellent!

But I wasn't the only one who needed to escape the dreadful rumbling.  I was sleeping comfortably when my collar was grabbed and I was hauled (most rudely, I thought) off the bed by Mum. 
No 'Move over, Troods' or 'Excuse me, Troods' just "Get off!'.  Seems Mum was troubled by lack of sleep too.
Wonder if it had anything to do with those little yellow rubber things that I found on her bedside table?  They were quite tasty.

Mud, glorious mud.

Today we went for a run at the puppy park.  We were the only ones there so we just raced around as fast as we could.  I am faster than Heidi because she has shorter legs.
The next thing I did was to look for the mud puddle near the drinking fountain but it has dried up. I was very sad about this because a good mud puddle is a true joy.

Last time we came to this park, the puddle was in excellent condition, all wet and squelchy and squidgy.
I tested it with my toes first, then slid in starting with my nose and rolling onto my right side making sure that my ear was fully immersed so that the cool mud went all the way in.  Bliss!
Next, over onto my back to give it the shimmy, shimmy whilst wagging my tail to deepen the puddle (for the enjoyment of the next user) and then onto the left side nose to tail. Outstanding! 

As I was enjoying a good shake, Heidi came over.  Heidi is not a fan of mud rolling.  She just likes the smell of the mud and usually has a drink of the lovely dark water.  She is such a princess!

Mum seemed to be enjoyed the moment too.   She was all excited and waving her arms and saying something that I couldn't hear because of the mud in my ears.  I was glad she was having fun too because mud is even more fun when you share it with your friends, so I jumped up to give her a cuddle.  We went straight home after that.

Quite unexpectedly, I had to have a bath when we got home.  It seems humans are not as fond of the delicious smell of mud as dogs are.  Is a puzzlement.

Scrub Turkeys

Scrub turkeys are funny looking birds.  They have tails that look like fans and they run around on the ground instead of sitting in trees like normal birds.  When Mum took us for a walk today we saw a scrub turkey building his mound.  He was scratching around in the bark and leaf litter and didn't even see us coming.  I could easily have caught him if Mum hadn't been so difficult about it.  She kept hold of the leash and made us cross over to the other side of the road.  All I could do was give him a jolly good barking.  Humans!  They just don't get it.  Mum says turkeys are not for dogs to chase but if that is true then why do they put turkey in dog food?  Makes no sense to me. 

Hello

Hello.  My name is Trudy and I am a big blonde dog.  My human, Mum, says I am a Groodle because my father was a standard poodle and my mother was a golden retriever.  I look like a big poodle but my tail is feathery like a retriever's. 

I live in Brisbane with my humans, Mum and Dad, and my 'sister', Heidi.  Heidi is a Labradoodle.  She has black wool and is not as big as me even though she is three months older than I am.  Heidi was already here in this house when I came so she is the top dog. 

I don't remember how I came to this place but Mum says I flew up from South Australia.  I know that can't be right because dogs can't fly.  I have tried to fly many times and I just can't do it so there must be some secret about where I came from that Mum isn't telling me.
Mum says Heidi flew here too but Heidi says she used to live in a place called Victoria when she was very small. One day she lay down for a sleep and when she woke up she was in the car with Mum. 
So I guess Mum is keeping a secret about Heidi too.  This is all very puzzling for me. 

Lots of things puzzle me and I like to try to figure puzzles out.  This often gets me into trouble because humans don't think the way dogs do.  Sometimes I wonder if they think at all.

Time to go because Mum is calling us and I think I can hear the leash rattling.  Ooh!  Maybe we're going for a walk......