I Don't Like Insurance Men

Today we had a visitor. He was our insurance man. I did not like him. I don't know why, but I stayed in the den while he talked to Dad about our house. No, dere's nothing wrong with the house! We were just looking at getting a quote from him for our house insurance. Anyway, while Dad talked to him in the kitchen, I stayed in the den with Mom. I was scared and barked. He just made me nervous. Usually I am a friendly dog, but maybe it's the insurance thing..... Maybe I thought he had a gecko in his pocket......

I Love Cheese!

I love cheese! Mom puts my cough pills in cheese and I am feeling much better! When Mom and Dad have cheese and cracker Happy Hour I get a little taste. I love cheese.

This weekend is the #TrooperBowl #Dudefest. I am the opening barktender, so I thought that a cheesehead was appropriate for the big game coming up. Did I tell you I love cheese?

Mom Says I Gots A Virus

Today Mom came home early from work and took me on a car ride without brudder, which I liked very much. I don't get much special time with Mom, so I was really having fun. We went to this place that had a bunch of kitties walking around and some doggies on leashes who wanted to make friends.

We went in this room that smelled really clean and this person picked up my tail and,,, not sure, but,,, what the heck was that thing?

Then the person, who was really nice said I had a temperature. I was doing this, gag, gag, ack, ack, and Mom asked that I have a heartworm test. The person stuck a needle in my arm and I was a good boy! The heartworm test was negative, which was good I guess because mom was very happy!

The person gave Mom some pills for me and then we drove home. I fell asleep in the car on the way home.

When we got home, brudder came running out to the car, jumping and jumping! He was so happy to see me, which was nice because he usually takes me for granted. Mom put the pills in some good cheese which was nommy. I like attention. It makes me feel special!

How Come Horses Don't Tweet?

Dese are my horse brudders, Chase on the left, and Cody on the right. They live in the pasture on our little farm in Embarrass, Minnesota. We went outside to play in the beautiful sun and we started wondering, why don't horses Tweet? We see kitties and bunnies and a guinea pig and a duck and a bird, but NO HORSES!

What is it about horses that they don't want to talk on Twitter? Are they snobs? Are they just not interested in talking to furriends? Or don't they know about Twitter? Should we tell them about our furriends and how much fun we have talking to furriends all around da world?

When we try to visit them and go under the fence into their pasture, they chase us out. They have got about 19 acres to themselves. We have about one acre. Maybe if we tell them about Twitter they will try to take over the twitterverse like they took over the farm.....

Humph, we think for now, we will keep Twitter a secret from them. Us dogs gotta have our space somewhere!

My Top Ten New Years 2011 Resolutions!

Yeah, I know it is well into the New Year! I have been thinking about this for a while and I am finally ready to publish my Top Ten New Years 2011 Resolutions!

Ready?

#10 >> I will not puke up kibbles after I eat them.

#9 >>> I will continue to clean my brother's ears.

#8 >>> I will not puke up dog bones after I eat them.

#7 >>> I will let mom trim my toenails.

#6 >>> I will not let that squirrel drive me crazy.

#5 >>> I will go swimming whenever I can.

#4 >>> I will not chew up mom's pillow when I steal it.

#3 >>> I will be friendly to the UPS and FedEx men.

#2 >>> I will not be afraid to have my picture taken.

and my #1 New Years Resolution for 2011 is:

I WILL CONTINUE TO BE A FOLLOWER, A BETA DOG, MOM'S BEST FRIEND, MY BRUDDER'S BEST FRIEND, AND NEVER, EVER, EVER,,,,

HAVE AN ORIGINAL THOUGHT OF MY OWN. THAT IS MY BRUDDER'S JOB!

The Doggy "Guilty" Look

Does my brudder, Lightning, look guilty?? Well, according to Alexandra Horowitz at Barnard College, New York, don't be too quick to judge. Lightning read about an experiment that shed some light on the subject:

What Really Prompts The Dog's 'Guilty Look'

Horowitz was able to show that what humans interpret as a 'guilty look' in a dog is really just the human's interpretation of their pet's 'guilty look'. Humans tend to anthropomorphize their pet's behaviors and the interpretation of the 'guilty look' falls into that category. The 'look' exhibited by the pet is a reaction to the owner's actions upon discovering the naughty deed, not a reaction to the actual deed that was done by the dog.

Hmmph, I could of told Mom that! Being naughty is fun!

Do Pessimistic Dogs Have More Anxiety?

My brudder, Lightning, has been doing some reading and he found an interesting article on separation anxiety that he wanted to share.

Dogs showing separation-related behavior exhibit a 'pessimistic mood' according to an article published in the October 12, 2010, issue of Current Biology.

The article suggests that dogs that demostrate 'pessimistic' behavior are more likely to show separation anxiety than dogs that exhibit 'optimistic' behavior. The author, Mike Mendl of the University of Bristol, notes that most owners believe that anxious pets are 'fine' and do not seek treatment for their pet, however, pets may actually benefit from treatment for anxiety. Mendl believes that treatment is very important to ensuring good dog welfare.

The link above describes how Mendl tested dogs for 'pessimistic' versus 'optimistic' behavior.