Mom: So guys, after our latest walk, I thought we should (once) again review the Ranch’s Poodle Rules about certain behavior on our walks.
Sam: Oh dog…here. she. goes. again.
Elsa: H…u…h?
Mom: You know how it cheeses my toast when you guys pull on our walks, especially when Sam pulls on my rotator cuff injured shoulder when he is bound and determined wants to sniff something.
Sam: Hey, I gotta life AND a social media presence. I’m just checking out my InstaPaw feed.
Elsa: I don’t know what you’re talking about; I’m a model citizen when it comes to walking.
Mom: Umm…Elsa…you kind of get a bit reactive around some dogs.
Elsa: I’m just letting the neighborhood know I’m no shrinking violet. I am a Ninja!!
Mom: Yes, but I never said you were supposed to be so ‘spirited‘ when a dog comes to say hello. We all know you’re a Ninja and could easily whip them with one paw tied behind your tail if need be.
Elsa:[ blushing with pride] Yeah I am one tough chick, aren’t I?
Mom: Please remember you’re supposed to behave yourself, not act like Cujo.
Elsa: Well sometimes, I just get caught up in the moment. What about Sam?
Sam: [Looking up and yawning] What do you mean, “what about Sam?” I never rumble. I’m a lover, not a fighter.
Elsa: But you almost always use my potty break catching up on pee mails as an opportunity to go in the opposite direction, pulling mom from limb to limb as if you think it’s the Spanish Inquisition again. That and trying to pee on me.
Sam: Au contraire, my little sister. I am simply proofreading your messages. You need a lot of help with punctuation. Do you not understand the difference between a comma and a semi-colon?
Mom: Enough! It’s called “we’re going for a walk,” not we’re going to pee on sisters or suddenly dash in the opposite direction of each other. Got it?
Sam and Elsa: [In 2 part harmony] Whatev.
Mom: Lost this debate again, haven’t I?
Sam & Elsa: [Harmonizing but somewhat sarcastically] Oh mom, you know we live to serve, {snickering under their breaths}.
Mom: Sigh. Well how about I leave the magic pocket chock-full of the tasty treats I bring for pawsitive training purposes at home? How you like them apples, Knuckleheads?
Sam & Elsa: [shrieking in unison]! Ok, ok…we’ll be better. Paws crossed. We’ll try real hard, mom, honest.
Mom: Good. I’m so glad we had this discussion. Was that so hard?
Sam turning to Elsa: You know we’re doing our usual thing, right?
Elsa: Damn straight, bro. We’re poodles, not debaters. And we rule. Period.
Sam: I knew you’d see it my way.
Elsa: Dont push your luck, Dude. I still hate it when you hover practically on top of me when I pee. Give a girl some peeing breathing room.
Do the pets in your house follow the rules or do they rule the house?
Live, love, bark 🐾
LOL all the time Monika. I swear that Siddhartha Henry is like a 3 1/2 year old child testing the rules daily…..and he IS 3 1/2 himself!
I have never been very successful against toddlers! 🤣
HAHAHA!! Understood Monika…I used to be a Professional nanny & I had infinite patience. That was many many years ago!
Now I have limited patience. Siddhartha Henry follows the motto: ‘Bad attention is better than NO attention.’ Seriously!!!! 🙂
I think that’s mindset is the main strand of pet DNA!
bahahaha my chessies rule the house! no if and’s or butt’s about it.
I think all of us uprights are minions to our pets. 😊
ROFWL>>>>VERY very true Monika!!! Even a 1/2 Husky can cause utter chaos…..like chewing the gussets out of my clean bikini panties…..HAHAHA!
Oh. my. What a fascinating trait! 😲
Oh yeah I was utterly impressed! NOT! So I learned to put any fresh folded laundry in the closet….
And as for following the rules Siddhartha Henry knows them & still manages to break almost everyone of them daily. I am no more ruler here than I was when I was owned by dogs!!! HAHA!
{giggle} They do manage to figure out what they can get away with, don’t they?
Golden retrievers are very diplomatic. They always make it look like we’re in charge. 🙂
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” 😉
Nose nudges,
CEO Olivia
Yup. Walking two large dogs (Wilhelmina and Avalon) and a third who is scrambling underfoot, can be quite the challenge! Our humom understands completely 🙂 Do you use a leash that fits around the waist? Hunter, a German company, makes a good one. Our humom couldn’t walk us all together without it!
the critters in the cottage xo
I have been tethering Sam around my waist for the past couple of weeks. He’s kinda cheesed since I have a lot more ballast than his pulling. LOL But I’ll check out one made specifically to wear around your waist. Thanks for the recommendation.
Sweet Shadow has always been a good girl. Though, when Callie was still with us, Shadow was more than happy to be her cohort/partner in crime. Those two were seemingly attached from shoulders to hip. Ducky, OTH, is still a bit challenging at times and seems to think the rules only apply to her when it’s convenient. 😂
Ducky could easily be related to Sam then!
Well, at least they’re in sweet, lovable, knucklehead company with each other! ❤️❤️
Most of the time. 😊 Sam is somewhat bullied by his sister. No surprise there. That dog has no clue he’s a dog!
At least twice per walk I ask to not have my arm dislocated. One of the reasons they are walked separately is because I can’t have two of them pulling me in different directions. Sigh. Good luck with it friend, I suspect you’re on the losing end of this one.
Always. I’m wrapping Sam’s lead around my waist. He’s not real keen on the extra ballast these days. 😁
Oh Monika I never really understood why you call the Poodles “Knuckleheads”. I apologize. I now totally understand!!! I can see Sam in my mind’s eye crowding poor Elsa & almost peeing on her….
And them pulling in opposite directions; you have a lot of patience!
Now to discuss the ‘house rules’ at Thee Purrfect Pad……………………………………………………
What rules? I make them; Siddhartha Henry breaks them & I just wave a white flag of surrender. **sighs**
What would we do w/out our 4 leggeds???
{{{hugs}}} Sherri-Ellen
I wish I could adequately describe how knuckleheaded those two really are, especially Sam. It’d make your head spin!
If it is any consolation I had a Shepherd/Husky cross named Bogart Sam…..he was lovely & completely CRAZY!!!! And he made my head spin on a daily basis! What a character he was…..something about dogs named ‘SAM’!!!! 😉
I’ve heard Huskies are not for the faint of heart. 😇
Hi Monika,
Great post! I can relate to some of this although Zac and Rosie pull so hard on the lead that there’s barely a chance to observe anything else. I don’t think they pee, sniff or anything. They’re off.
Unfortunately, two of the kittens I mentioned yesterday didn’t make it and mother cat as taken the third one elsewhere. The whole experience seems a bit surreal now.
By the way, I found another dog blog I thought you’d like: https://www.retirementreflections.com/
Hope you’re having a great week!
xx Ro
Thanks for the blog referral-you’re right, it is a good one. Sorry about the kittens. 💔
Thanks, Monika. The kittens were a disappointment. It was such a strange chapter too, but we hadn’t really got to know them so it wasn’t as hard as it might’ve been. Nature can be quite brutal, can’t it.
Hope you’re having a great week.
Best wishes,
Rowena
Indeed. Loss of any life is a struggle for those of us who deeply care about animals.
So true.
Mom would not want to admit it but I rule the house!
hugs
Mabel
Not surprising, Mabel. Seems like the 4-legged rule more than the 2-legged version. 🐶
Absolutely right!
Follow the rules…ha ha….do people really have dogs that do that?? If I only had a nickel for every time I’ve said “this is supposed to be a WALK”, or “Leave it” for the 8th million pile of deer poop I’ve tried to maneuver Luke past (to no avail)!
Follow the rules…HA! What WAS I thinking? 😍
oh this was BEYOND adorable! Loved it! I would say my boys both rule (well, actually CODY rules) and my husband and I just live here BOL
Why am I not surprised? Isn’t the expression…cats rule, dogs drool? 😆
A little bit of both around here. Sometimes I rule (or think I do) and then other times, pfftt!
I used to think that way too. Then I realized I’m living in a delusional state. 24/7! 😁
😀
Have your two been watching my boys on their walks? It sounds like the exact same behavior we deal with. Poor Bentley has had his head pee’d on more than once and they ALWAYS go in two different directions. BOL! We are just well-trained by our dogs, am I right?
I’m afraid so. And more often than not, I suspect I’m not that well trained at all! BOL
A good conversation, tells a lot of you, dear friends. You know I am a cat, so there is no problem who rules. It is of course me. People, who have a cat, are somehow different, they know they are members of the staff.
Kosmo,
a cat in faraway Finland.
Dear Kosmo…I’m beginning to think it makes no difference if the pet is a poodle or a cat. 😂
Hehheh, I knew it, poodles for sure have the staff taking care of them. And speaking seriously every pet has a staff, a pet rules always and all the staffs love it.
Kosmo
Aye, we do at that, Kosmo.
Rules? The only ones here are the ones they make us follow…
I think getting thugs to follow rules is easier than Poodle Knuckleheads.
You can have discussions, set rules, lay down the law, threaten and a million other things, but nothing will change. Tomorrows walk will be just the same as today’s walk. It’s how poodles roll.
Have a woof woof day. My best to your mom. ♥
How very true! You know the breed well.
Sounds familiar, except you forgot my favorite–crossing arround behind me to wrap leashes. I currently have 4 dogs and 4 fosters, I can walk 2 or take 3 to the dog park, it’s a never ending job. Mine are relatively good, the fosters are not so good–I can’t blame them, some have never been on a formal walk, or even worn a collar.
My rule in walks is, after the initial 100 yards, WE ARE NOT STOPPING EVERY 5 FEET. My poor mini poodle loves people, and drifts towards them as we pass. Out of the 100+ people we have passed, only 2 have stopped to pet her. She is devastated, and keeps asking me what she is doing wrong
Oh yeah…the leash behind trick is another favorite, especially when you’re bending over to picked up a poop.
We think we have had that same conversation here quite often too. Misty and Timber think that every single peep we meet along the way HAS to pay attention to them. If not, then they want to pull Mom toward them to let them know they forgot to pet them:) Lightning is the puller – IF he spots a bike. He so wants to go the opposite direction:)
Woos – Lightning, Misty, and Timber
Wait…peeps along walks don’t have to pay attention to us dogs? WTH?!
Your fur-iend,
Sam🐾
I rule. Peeps and dogs drool and grovel at my claws.
Drool and grovel. Hmm, doesn’t sound appealing from a dog’s perspective.
Your fur-iends,
Sam & Elsa 🐾
My dogs always follow the rules…which they make, of course.
When you put it like that, makes me realize there are no issues. Hahaha
My girls follow the classic pattern found in children. Kali is oldest and a rule follower. Kloe is second and the reason the rules had to be established in the first place!
Keep on rockin’ Kloe. It’s what makes the youngest ‘kid’ in families so endearing. 😍
My cats suggest trying to trade them in for cats. (It’s their stock advice when talking about dogs.) You won’t have a bad shoulder but they still get their revenge! And no, you won’t be in any more control than you are now.
Hahaha! And the up side is? 😆
Upside? My cats don’t know what an upside is. They can’t understand anyone preferring dogs to a nice gaggle of cats.
Not to offend the gaggle, but allergies prevent me from being owned by a cat.
You are probably better off. 🙂
😆
yes, Milo’s perfect.
Bwaaahahahahahaha
He’s pulling me like a mule team mostly, unaware I’m being dragged. Bunnies are the worst for darting at. Or blowing away plastic bags.
Squirrels are triggers for Elsa. She s.l.o.w.l.y. approaches the bunnies and as we get closer she’s ready to spring into action. They are of course waaaay ahead of her and exit quickly. Pee-mail is what makes Sam tick. An especially delish scent can make that boy stop (or pull) on a dime.
Every time I walk Choppy with another dog, I am thankful I don’t have to do it often!
They don’t call ’em pack animals for nothing, right?
On walks I use torture devi…er, training devices to help them see the error of their ways. They then are model citizen walkers.
Ha…you should see the look when I tried out a clicker. Bwahahaha. Even I had to laugh.
Oh snorts and rolls with piggy laughter. I love your conversations my sweet friends. What a meeting that was! And here at the Hotel Thompson – snorts – us anipals make the rules. Mom/dad just abide by them. HAHAHAH! XOXO – Bacon
Seems like you anipals make the rules everywhere, Bacon. Us huMoms don’t stand a chance.
Nope. You don’t. Snorts and rolls with piggy laughter. Don’t tell my mom I said that okay. XOXO – Bacon
Your secret is safe with us.
I have to confess that Benji is very good and would follow rules – if we had any – which we don’t. From time to time he will take off to some blade of grass that he feels he just has to give his attention to. He is not so much the 10 foot dog these days as I think he is getting used to the district. But walking him is fair. I have no complaints
Sam thinks Benji is making it hard for his idea of rules and asks that he start acting up just a bit. Rotten Knucklehead (Sam, that is-Benji is a love).
That paws-crossed thing will get owners every time!
Boy, don’t I KNOW it. Never trust a crossed paw.
our house is quasi a ruler-coaster ;o) … we use kytta cream for marks shoulder, it works really great ;O)))
I might have to check for some of that for use around the Ranch.
Ray has trained us so well that we really believe that we are in charge.
Ha! That is what I fear is happening here except for the part where I believe I’m in charge.