Monica Knits

We are definitely in the dog days of summer (a few days early), fortunately moderated by wind. Shaq enjoyed the breeze, which was at times gentle and at times strong enough to cause his ears to flap as if he were in a car travelling with its windows down. The breeze also made it easy for him to catch scents, just by pointing his nose in the direction of the wind. He even opened his mouth to catch more air, as if sipping a fine wine. In this photo he is taking a break in the prairie among the daisies.

The past two days Shaq has come up with a new way of telling me he wants to play. We have this thick branch that we place on a wide shelf about 3 feet off the ground and it is not visible to a dog standing on the floor. Shaq however, knows where the stick is. At first he looked at me and then at the shelf--I knew what he meant, but it was pouring rain yesterday and we were just going out for a quick bathroom break, not play. I wasn't keen on playing fetch in the rain! He must have thought I didn't understand the message. Shaq stood up on his hind legs, put his paws on the shelf and grabbed the stick--it was smooth and effortless for him and it surprised me. So we played fetch in the rain, but when we came in I moved the stick to a less accessible location -- or so I thought!
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My husband and I were just talking about how polite Shaq is and, how different his style of communication is from Heidi's or Abby's. If you were working at the computer and Abby had to go out, she just kept nose butting your mouse hand--pretty difficult to ignore. Trust me, it's time to take a break when the dog starts pushing the mouse around.

We had between 10 and 12" of snow today, but we didn't wait until it stopped snowing before we began the clearing job. The snow was wet and experience has taught us that it only gets heavier if too much accumulates.

As I was shovelling snow from the walkway leading to our front door, Shaq was jumping back and forth over the shovel like a highland dancer. At other times of the year, Shaq helps us with yard chores by removing sticks and branches from the wheelbarrow as we go around the yard picking them up. Unlike sticks and branches however, stealing snow from a shovel was a bit more challenging. For his efforts he got snow on his nose and in his mouth--not the outcome he was expecting. After tugging on the shovel mischieviously, he went back to jumping over the shovel and running circles around me.

He took a few breaks from helping me shovel to sniff at interesting things nearby and supervise my husband's work. Shaq was helpful--his antics made me smile and turned a chore into a highly charged event.

Not only do you learn lots about your own habits from living with dogs, but dogs can also teach you lessons about fitting in and getting along with people. When Shaq first came to us, he was a tad compulsive about finishing every last morsel of food immediately. He has now been with us for almost 2 years and a couple of weeks ago he developed the most endearing new habit. He began waiting for us to sit down at the kitchen table and start eating before eating his own food! This requires patient observation of the two footed family members, and sometimes a few hints directed at the people. Sometimes a person sits at the table and knits instead of eating! Read more...

Our vet calls Shaq "property dog" because Shaq owns and takes care of personal property--his toys. On the evening I took this photo, all of Shaq's toys (except this Kong) were neatly arranged on his dog pillow--so neatly that my husband asked if I had organized the toys. I hadn't--Shaq had arranged them. But the first toy we bought for Shaq, this red Kong^TM, is his favorite. As you can see he also sleeps with it, usually between his paws, though sometimes he rests his head on it. We have to smile when we see how well he takes care of his toys and how much he enjoys this one! In the photo, you will notice another boy toy (the TV remote) on my husband's lap.

Heidi and our other German Shorthair Pointers showed us new ways of exploring and enjoying winter. Heidi always displayed a joie de vivre and would never walk if she could run, prance or leap. As I mentioned yesterday, the dogs have a way of engaging us in play and I fondly remember Heidi's habit of catching snowflakes, bounding through the snow and tracking. I managed to find a few photographs that made me smile, including one where she was catching snowflakes on her tongue during a pretty intense snow storm. Read more... to see additional photos of Heidi in the snow.

GamesIt was overcast, but we had a few inches of fresh snow and our dog Shaq was having a blast running around the yard and jumping through the snow. I smiled and joined the fun--I made tractor tracks and snow angels! His exuberance reminded me of Heidi's antics as a puppy and the games my sister and I used to play in the snow. Dogs may not create snow angels or tractor tracks, but other of our childhood games were amazingly similar to the puppy's. Read more...

As Shaq and I wandered about the yard yesterday, one of us accidentally knocked this toadstool off its perch. It was a sad moment for me; this tender life beneath the decaying leaves was abruptly cut off, before its prime. This made me think of Heidi, who also expired too early.

Only the day before, Monday, November 23, Heidi, our sweet, friendly and gentle GSP had gone in for surgery to have a splenic tumor removed, but the tumor proved to be inoperable. Read more....

I find it relaxing, enjoyable and peaceful watching the dogs select the perfect apple, and the drawn out process they have for enjoying one. It is as if time stands still, and the world is moving in slow motion, while I watch Heidi. The apple has to be just right and she is all business, serious and focused while inspecting. Oblivious to what is going on around her, she turns over apples with her paw and if the apple looks and feels right then it time to get a real close sniff of it, just to make sure.

Read more ... to see the 5 steps to savor an apple. Click on the thumbnails to view larger images.