HIgh Diving Giraffes

Some YouTube clips need to be viewed repeatedly for amusement and smiles. This is one of them. Watch as needed.

Consult with your doctor to see if this clip is right for you.

Cats and Vacuums

Listen up kitties, don't try this at home.

The View From Here: Act Natural Edition

Regular readers have learned that Cambridge has a tiny flock of turkeys to call its own. Check back here and here for earlier postings. I just imagine the conversation these two turkeys are having. "Act natural Harold. Maybe she won't notice us." I did notice them. I don't understand why the human won't let me eat them. It seems unfair. Doesn't it?

I Walk the Line

Yesterday while the human was watching television I was rustling around in my toy box. As you'll see below, I decided it was necessary to line up some of my favorite bones in a perfectly spaced line across the living room floor. The reasons behind this behavior shall remain a mystery.

Back and Forth (such fun!)

It's the simple things in life that are enjoyable. Don't you think? This is my favorite way to spend my break at work.

The Case of the Herding Bunny

How can you resist a herding bunny rabbit on a Friday morning? You can read the AP news article here if you'd like a little background information on this particular leporid.

The View From Here: Live in Front of a Studio Audience Edition

So I've discovered me new favorite thing: performing in front of an audience of children. The human and I had a little extra time before work so I got to do my favorite stick chasing activity. Slowly this crowd of children gathered watching me. They got to learn a little (always ask before touching dogs!), they got to pet me, and best of all, they got to cheer for me as I ran back and forth.

By the time it was time to head to the office I was exhausted. I slept clear through the end of the day!

Performing live in front of a studio audience

Can you fly too?

Bet your ears don't do this!

Come play with me.

Maggie and the Cow Ear

Maggie and the Marrow Bone

No Dogs Were Hurt in the Filming of This Video

You know how some humans can't seem to walk and chew gum at the same time? Below you will find some video evidence of what happens when those same humans attempt to use video and throw a ball at the same time. It's a good thing I'm a therapy dog with a good nature!



He tried again and paid a little more attention. This was much more fun.

The View From Here: Saturday Morning Edition

Do I really need to get up?

How do you feel in the morning?

This is my experience. What about yours?

Last Day Before Spring Break

Class started off normally enough today. The human and I always get there a little bit early since we all gather in the fenced in back yard and get in some off-leash play. All of us know each other, and the humans make sure we are safe by regularly practicing recalls. When the energy gets too ramped up, for example, all of us dogs are called back to the humans and we spend a little time settling down and grounding ourselves. We do this over and over again. It's great practice.

After the outdoor playtime, we get back on leash and go inside the training building. Our teacher Maureen Ross always has a few words of wisdom for us. We check in with each other on how the previous week has gone. We talk about what we'd like to work on in the class.

Those first few moments are always a nice time to connect and bond with our humans. Here is a candid moment shared between Jake and his human Kathy. They are awfully happy together, don't you think?

Some of my classmates have a more laid back attitude. Gracie, who was helping me herd around a Newfoundland named Journey, decided to recline a bit and grab a quick nap. I've seen her lay like this for hours--unless of course she's invited herself into someone's lap. She also has developed this incredibly cute behavior. She'll roll over on her back and lay perfectly still--perfectly still until someone walks close to her. She'll then use her paws to gently beckon the unsuspecting human toward her.

Class often presents me with an opportunity to practice tolerating change. That happens sometimes, doesn't it? You think you know what's going to happen. You think you can depend on a routine. Then everything changes and you need to adapt. If you can't adapt--well--you bark a lot and then adapt anyway.

You see, today Maureen had an idea. This is Maureen's idea face. Look closely. Learn this face. When you see it, there are frequently costumes involved. This is also a high probability of laughter and general silliness.

Being an adolescent, I provide the teacher with a lot of attitude when she asks me to do something that I find ridiculous. Sit? Stay? Really? Who wants to listen at school. This is my response to her idea face.









Mind you, Maureen doesn't do it alone. Please memorize the following faces. If you see any of them coming into your dog class turn the lights off, lock the door, and pretend like you aren't there. It's for your own safety. You could also find them all at New England Pet Partners -- just in case you'd like to invite them to your facility to provide a little animal assisted therapy (and humor, too).

"Pam" -- Wanted for dog drooling incident

"Liz" -- Wanted for questioning related to a howling noise disturbance

"Kathy" -- Wanted in two states for excessive treat giving

"Diane" -- Wanted for contributing to the delinquency of a dog (Gracie last scene in the back of a police cruiser)

"Noreen" -- Wanted for questioning in a herding incident

Okay -- we have that out of the way. So what did we do today? I thought we were going to do a conga line. The humans did after all have costumes on. It looks a little like a line dance, doesn't it? Here is what we did: one at a time we practiced sit/stay (or down/stay) and then one human walked away. The human then asked us to do something at a distance (for example, down -- or come interrupted by a "wait!" or "stop!"). That way we each got to practice several new behaviors in new combinations (an interrupted recall, being told commands at a distance, etc.). We also each got to work on our patience because we had to wait until it was our turn. As you can see from this picture, my classmates were all doing a great job of paying attention--that is except for me and Gracie. I was bored out of my gourd and Gracie--well--who knows what she is thinking.

Last thoughts? Dog training is important, fun, and a life long process. It's important (and easy) to learn the basics like sit and down. It's more complicated to learn those skills in different contexts. Dog school is one fun way to learn how to behave in a variety of situations. It provides constant novel stimuli, companionship, and fun. Try it out. You and your human will be happy.

Skipping School

Seeing that my transportation was broken this morning, I had no choice but to stay home from school. Like any teenager, I like to live it up when I get an unexpected day off. Here are my results: 

Afternoon Stroll

Some things in life are simple. What else does a therapy dog need but a 55 degree day, sunshine, and a sycamore stick to carry around? My apologies to any other pedestrians that I whacked with the stick. Oops.

When hats, dogs, and humans meet

As you all previously saw, the human was rather insistent on me wearing a Halloween costume this year. Like most other humans, he apparently finds it amusing to see pets in costumes. We went through this last year with the pink wig. I told him time and time again that I didn't like the wig. I tried to hide the wig. I tried to eat the wig. I tried to shake and kill the wig. Finally I resorted to the only other thing left: I gently tried to eat the human's hand so he knew I didn't like the wig. Did he listen? NoooOoooOo! Of course he didn't. Well I warned him. Didn't I?


Please direct your attention to the following three images. In the first the human and I are having a tender moment resting in the evening sunshine. Doesn't it look idyllic? The warm light of the autumn sun makes us glow. I'm gazing at him with my undivided, unconditional love. You'd think he'd just enjoy it, right? Of course  not.


Out of the blue the human surprises me with a hat. Not just any hat. It's that stupid barmaid hat that I told him that I utterly despised. To make matters worse, he had the nerve to stick his tongue out at me. He knows that drives me nuts. When will he ever learn?

Here in this last picture I'm again finding myself having to give the human a "talking to." I'm threatening to put a leash on him if he doesn't learn to behave. What do you all think? How can I get through to him so he stops trying to make me wear hats?

Life In A Day

A couple of people shared with me about the Life In A Day experiment that was happening on July 24. The idea is to create a user generated film shot in a single day. People all over the world had 24 hours to record a glimpse of their life. Some of that footage will be used to make a documentary produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Kevin Macdonald.

Here is my contribution to the experiment:

Maggie and the Hydrant

So a recent reader of my blog posted a comment saying that her dog Mandy was really afraid of cameras. After careful observation they noticed Mandy was responding with fear to flash photography. After practice outside without the flash, and then practice outside with the flash, Mandy has become a little more accustomed to getting her picture taken. Still, if there are lots of people with lots of cameras, she's a little afraid. Who likes being chased by paparazzi? I know I don't.

While I've never been fearful of cameras, my human has still been prone to finding me annoying while he takes my picture. I don't sit still. I can't tell you how many great pictures he gets of the tip of my tail or the inside of my mouth (I love trying to lick the camera).

This is apparently a common dilemma. Never fear as I have a few simple solutions. First off, you need a lot of patience. Let go of taking the pictures you think you want. Go with the flow and let your dogs be dogs. They'll do lots of cute things. Focus on catching something unexpected rather than composing what you want. It makes for better images anyway.

Secondly, if your pup is afraid of the camera go slow. Think of it from our point of view. You disappear behind a strange object. Sometimes you get mad or anxious at us when you are behind it. When we least expect it, the thing will flash a bright light at us. You'd be scared too. Make it into a game, and incorporate the camera into our daily activities. Have the camera with you when you feed your puppy a meal. Put the camera in front of your face and give us a bit of our favorite food. Before you know it, the camera will be an object of delight rather than one of fear.

Finally, take lots of pictures. Digital photography is cheap. Take hundreds of pictures of your animal. At first maybe you'll get an interesting one for every 50 images. You'll quickly begin to learn what works and what doesn't. The quality of your compositions will improve.

As you can see, I did a photo shoot this morning by a local fire hydrant. As usual, there were a voluminous amount of photos that just didn't work. These were just a few. Part of the problem is that the human's digital camera is a bit on the slow side. The second between when he presses the button to when the image is captured is just enough for me to find something else to do. The first photo I am demonstrating how I like to move just a bit out of the frame. Isn't that nice? The second photo demonstrates how I like to hide my face. Photo three is evidence that I have a wandering eye: there were birds that needed investigation. In the last shot above I'm sampling a new variety of grass. It was might tasty.

There were a trio of shots that ended up being reasonable. Here are my picks for the day:

Butterflies Everywhere

Butterfly; butterfly fly away,

teach me how to be as free as free can be.

Butterfly; butterfly I see you there, its beautiful the way your wings caress the air.

Butterfly; butterfly go as high as you can go, show me the things that I don't yet know.

Butterfly; butterfly fly into the sky,
drop down and land yourself by my side.

Butterfly; butterfly I see you kiss a flower,
my eyes fill and I begin to ponder.

Butterfly; butterfly your beauty soars,
I see the beauty in you and I see the beauty within me.

Butterfly; butterfly show me the way,
For beauty is beautiful but there's more to me.

Butterfly; butterfly show yourself,
I see your colors and I see your shimmer, is there anything else?

Butterfly; butterfly what is the matter?
can't you give me an answer for the questions I desire?

Butterfly; butterfly I see you dying,
life is far too short to sit around crying.

Butterfly; butterfly don't you go,
for your goal has not yet been accomplished.

Butterfly; butterfly let me lift you,
I peer into your eyes and see that there's a secret inside.

Butterfly; butterfly let it out,
your secret could hold great things, give me the secret to life.

Butterfly; butterfly let me know,
before you take your last breath; show me what you hold.

Butterfly; butterfly there you go...
You twitch away letting me that the secret to life is having the courage...
to just let go.

--Ashley Landry

Of course, if in doubt, or you aren't so interested in learning anything profound from butterflies or poetry, you can try out my new therapy dog move and just stick out your tongue. I think that works pretty well, don't you?

Invisible Dirt

Some things never grow tiring. Here is one of my favorite things to do: hiding treats and covering them with invisible dirt.