Sunday, May 18, 2008

VERY Good Dogs

Before I highlight good dogs, I want to reflect on empty feeders. After five days, I see a few Goldfinches and House Finches on the niger seed. Cardinals hang out…waiting. Broods of House Sparrows stop by, as well as Starlings and Grackles, infrequently. And always, the Northern Mockingbird. It’s peaceful but lonely out there and, for me, it's painful to visit. Only a few hummingbird sightings make me smile but my camera isn’t with me lately. I’m looking forward to better times in a few weeks!


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I concentrate on the self-reliant birds. There’s an abundance of American Robins here this year.
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Everyone has heard of dogs graduating from Obedience School. Don’t be fooled! Dogs don’t graduate. Their owners graduate and deserve the diploma. Congratulations to my daughter Gina, and Billy, for good dog training. My granddogs have certificates displayed on their refrigerator!



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Mr. Biggins retreats to his “place” on command,



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and Bammy, a.k.a. Bamma-Lamma-Ding-Dong, obeys also.

They “stay” on their place until they hear “free”. They needed to hear a strong, consistent voice at home. That’s all.

They don’t have vicious fights anymore. They're two males who like each other and have learned who rules – neither of them.

No more sleeping in the adult bed, no more jumping on sofas, and everything’s OK.

They “come” when called, and “down stay” and “heal” during walks. They’re wonderful boys who happily accepted an invitation to Gramma’s for a cookout yesterday.


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Bammy paces through the house and uses his bottom ledge of teeth to open Gramma’s pantry. He’ll stand there for hours unless we call him.


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If he isn’t in the pantry, we’ll find him opening the outside toybox :o)


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Gramma, throw me a turkey leg or a squeaky ball, please?




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Mr. Biggins spends most of his time with his best girlfriend, Bel-Bel. Mr. Biggins and Miss Little – no matter. Bella rules.



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Mr. Biggins. What a handsome man-dog, who still squats like a girl.

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More good news about good dogs:

We’ve been negligent dog trainers for too long. The Licker Sisters could benefit by obedience training. It might not be too late.


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Nearing her 12th birthday, Chloe, the girl with an attitude, allowed a nail trimming without a fight or sedatives yesterday. Oh, she growled and made ugly faces during her pedicure but she was GOOD. I wish I had my camera at the vet’s office to photograph Michael’s smiling face when he saw her being a GOOD patient. We’re so proud of her!


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I was g-g-good, too. Take MY picture?

Bella is always good at the vet. Our sweet one.
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Upon awakening this morning, I made my usual visit to the front porch and thought I saw at least four Eastern Bluebirds exit a Crepe Myrtle a few feet away… No, I must being seeing things, I thought.

A few minutes later, I saw a bright male Eastern Bluebird on one of my feeders, looking damned beautiful in the rising sun. Did I nearly stumble and fall on the way to the garage for a cup of worms? Yes.


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A few minutes after I served worms, I found a female on a lonely maple located beyond the back fence.


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I had to leave the house for a few hours and I’m sure they didn’t find the worms before the Mockingbirds cleaned the cup.

21 comments:

Lisa at Greenbow said...

What a fun post Mary. Such good dogs! All dogs need a leader of their pack. Hooray for your daughter. Your girls are not too old either. I had a friend years ago that showed Bostons. They are so smart and trainable. It just takes time.

Debbie said...

Terrific dog post, Mary. I just love dogs and your Licker Sisters and the granddogs are adorable!

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I love your sweet little look-alike girls. I grew up with pugs so the sisters have a special spot for me. Squeezable!

Susan Gets Native said...

Dude, you totally said "and uses his bottom ledge of teeth to open Gramma’s panty". I think that's illegal in 49 states.

Unknown said...

no need or no words i get to write after i saw your blog , nice blog , i suppose are you very busy with your work ,these lines is saying by your work , nice work you have done.

keep it up in forward direction

god bless you

Jayne said...

Do you ever watch The Dog Whisperer? I love hearing him say, "I rehabilitate dogs and train their owners." :c) Someone has to be the pack leader, and it can't be them.

Glad the bluebirds are with you. :c)

NCmountainwoman said...

Great shots and post. BTW, it's never too late to train healthy dogs. They live in the "here and now" and will quickly conform to your rules for them despite their past behavior.

However, I strongly suspect that you love the licker sisters just the way they are and won't be heading out for a diploma any time soon.

Naturegirl said...

Mary I so enjoyed catcing up in your last two posts! The dogs the birds just makes my heart sing! You closed down the feeders!!! What!!
I do understand as I am having to fill up 3 times daily 5 different feeders! Going crazy here trying to capture all the photos..but I lOVe it!! I missed not seeing all my birds while in Arizona..I had to be in the right place at the right time it seemed. My garden here in Canada is open season now and every birdy is welcome! Happy Day to you Mary!! hugs NG

possumlady said...

LOVE those grandogs! Such expressive faces.

I agree that it's never too late to do a little training. When I adopted my dog Jiminy when she was 11 years old, within the first month at my house I trained her how to get her leash and bring it to me if she wanted to go out. A few years later when she was mostly deaf she learned 3 hand signals from me for--time to go out, stay, and good dog!

Corey said...

You got bluebirds!!! Whoop! She's a cutie too. I love the pics of the dogs, they're great.

Cheryl said...

I love dogs, they never bore me, always make me want to read more. Bella is such a sweetie, she really is.
That Bluebird is stunning.
Lovely post Mary.

Q said...

Dear Mary,
I am so proud of your daughter to do this for her dogs. A trained pet makes for a happy home.
I think your girls are very well trained...at least your are.
Blue birds in your back yard! That is so very exciting!!!
Your feeders will be back up soon and the lonely evenings will be over!
Sherry

KGMom said...

Awww-good doggies. I think you always have to be firm with dogs. So with nail trimming, just keep going gently. My dog knows I won't let her decide what she is going to do (most of the time).
Be the leader of the pack!

Rose said...

Congratulations to your granddogs! My daughter always reminds me to include her "baby" in counting up my grandchildren. Enjoyed the photos of your whole family.

Anonymous said...

I always love seeing your puppies but love your new star guest model!~ Glad your puppies were able to help show him how to pose so nicely! O ya, love the mockingbird shots!

JeanMac said...

Happy, happy doggie stories!

dguzman said...

Good pups!

So glad you saw bluebirds in your yard! I rarely get them in my yard, and as you know I live "in the country." They certainly never make it to the feeders before the greedy grackles, red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, mourning doves, and bluejays eat everything. Those buggers.

Do you buy the live worms from NC Mealworms, or do you use the dead kind?

Mary said...

Delia,

I get my mealworms from NC Mealworms - Susan at Lake Life. There are over 1,000 in my garage that I'm not using in the yard so I'm taking them to the bluebirds on campus.

What do you mean, the dead kind?

Sherry at the Zoo said...

Oh such good doggies! Such hope! Our dogs are rude, rude, rude. I do know that it is the owners, not the dogs. I just haven't embraced that yet - LOL!

kate smudges said...

Erm ... a guilty-looking dog stares at me from his sofa, as I tell him about the obedient dogs who graduated from school. Good going, Mr. Biggins and Bammy. Chloe deserves an extra treat for being good at the vet!

I was thinking that you could start worm composting so as to have a continuous supply of worms ... who knew they multiplied so quickly?

I'm sorry for not visiting - am just getting back into the blogging groove after surgery.

RuthieJ said...

I am a bad dog mom--letting them sleep under the covers and sit on the couch right next to me. I know I would definitely flunk out of dog training class! (now you know I'm not the Alpha female at home!)