Question for 07/07/2009

Hi again. Did you have a good holiday? Did you set off a lot of fireworks? Did you check to make sure no dogs were nearby? Those things really hurt our ears you know. It's not too bad for me since I'm only 1 1/2 years old, but I hear my family talk about how their old dog really hated fireworks and thunder. I'm not looking forward to getting old if that is going to happen to me. I need to see if I can find some ear plugs.

On to the question.

Dear Quincy,

I like your name. Are you named after anyone? That's not my question though. I want to know what is more important for a dog; food, sleep, companionship, something else?

Thanks,

Chelsea

Chelsea,

Thanks, I like your name, too. I've been told I was named after some character from TV a long time ago. Mike really likes old TV shows, I've been told.

For the other question, it really depends. When we are very small food is the most important. We need a lot of food to grow. As we get a little older we really crave companionship. That is why us dogs always try to jump on your lap or into your bed. Then, when we hit about five or six we want to sleep more. We are getting to be middle-aged by then, and, frankly, we are usually kind of bored with you by then. Did you ever notice that when a dog hits that age they only get excited when other people come over? It's all new smells and fun time for us. Plus, we hope that these new people will have treats for us.

I hope I answered your question.

Quincy.

By the way, did any of you hear that they found Rin Tin Tin's grave? I didn't realize he was from France. I need to find a way to get there. Is that pet airline still around?

That's all for today. Have a good week!

Q & A #. How exciting.

Today I take the first question from the mail bag. At least I get some computer time, my master was watching some bad TV show on Hulu earlier. He was laughing at it, but it didn't seem like it was supposed to be funny.

Now that I think of it, I don't know if I should call him my master. He cleans up after me, brings me food and water, and sometimes treats, maybe I should just call him my friend. That sounds good. Anyway, on to the question.

Dear Quincy, (ed. I need to come up with a cool name for this part of the blog. )

We just got a new dog recently in our household. We had many, many people telling us what kind of dog to get, where to get it from; it was quite a stressful experience. Anyway, now we have him and are having a bit of trouble.

So far he has found a spot in my husband's office that he likes to pee in. It's a small corner (well, it's kind of a rounded corner), but it is starting to stink and we can't get him to stop. Then, a few weeks ago he chewed up one of my daughter's shoes then ended up throwing up a small portion of it on a Very Important Person's foot. It was very embarrassing. I've also caught him near my garden a few times. So far he hasn't gone in there, but I'm worried he's going to get in there and chew up all our food. If he does I think I'm going to lose it. The problem is, no matter what happens, we cannot get rid of the dog. Let's just say people would make that a very difficult time for us if we did.

Any suggestions?

Michelle

Washington DC

Michelle,

That's it? Wow, he's a pretty good dog. You should see what I do to irritate my family so they will play with me.

That's really all I'd suggest. Take him for more walks. Have the kids run around the house with him. Heck, hire someone to play with him. If he's too exhausted to get in trouble, he won't get into any. I think he's trying to get your attention.

For the garden, plant some chili peppers around the perimeter. If he gets one of those first, he will leave the rest alone. Trust me.

That's all for today. I need to take nap. A dog's life is hard you know.

I'm Back!

Sorry for the long absence, my family went away and I was at Tucker Pups for a little over week. After that I was just too wiped out to do anything. Have you ever tried to rest with 25 other dogs running around you? It isn't easy. Not that I didn't have fun, but some of those dogs just won't let you catch a breath. And those little dogs, you know the yippy ones, they are annoying. They never stop barking, and they bark at anything. They bark at bugs for for dog's sake.

Also, my family has been at the computer every since they've been home. How many times do they have to look at pictures from the vacation they just came back from? That they didn't take me on? Don't they feel at least a little guilty? I have heard them say it was really hot there, so maybe it's not so bad that I was in Chicago.

This is what I've been doing since I got home; for the most part at least.

Let me tell you, that tile feels nice on a hot day. I've discovered these little portholes on the floor that blow cold air too. Those are nice to lay on top of, though everybody keeps telling me to get off of them all the time. How hot can they possibly be, they have so little fur?

I have to go now, but I'll be back soon with more Q&A stuff. The mailbag is full.

The dog's of "UP"

I didn't get to see UP with the family this weekend. For some reason they don't let dogs in the movie theaters. What do they think I'm going to do, eat peoples popcorn and candy? Okay, maybe I would, but that's still not a reason to not let me see a movie that has talking dogs. 

I've seen the commercial many times at home, and the kids have watched the trailer on the computer as well. I think Mike was more interesting in watching the trailer than the kids were, but he's just a big kid sometimes. I liked the idea of the talking dogs in the movie, but I wish they came to me first. I don't think the dogs thoughts were all that accurate. 

See, we don't constantly think about how much we love our masters. Most of the times we are thinking about food or what that particular smell is and where it's coming from. And we aren't that fixated on squirrels. Cats, yes, but not so much squirrels. Besides, are there many squirrels in the forests of South America? How did those dogs even know what a squirrel was? 

See, this is why movies need to have more technical advisers. I'm sure they talked to people of rain forests and dirigibles, but did they bother trying to find out what a dog really thinks about? No. 

Would I like to have one of those collars to communicate with humans? I don't think so. It's much more fun to listen to them talk to me like fools trying to figure out what I want. "Want to go out? Want some water? Need to go potty? What? What do you want?! I'm trying to watch TV here?!" 

Another fun thing is to walk to the door and have someone open the door for me and ask me if I want to go outside. Then I just stand there and drive them crazy while I stand half-in and half-out of the door. If I had a collar I'd have to tell them that I just want to see if anything interesting is outside. What fun is there in that? 

So, no, I wouldn't want one of the collars. Also, I'd like the next movie with talking dogs to contact me before making us look silly. 

Now I need to go and pretend like I need something. 

Welcome to my blog. I'm exhausted.

Hi! My name is Quincy, welcome to my blog. As you can tell by my picture, I'm a dog.  A Golden Retriever to be exact. I decided to start a blog because I always see my master typing on his computer to his friends and it looked fun. So, I had him set me up. You should see the size of my keyboard. It takes up the whole floor in the family room. 

Anyway, I thought I'd start my own blog to tell you a little about what it's like to be a dog. Or, just me. I really don't know what other dogs do. But, if you have any questions about dogs, let me know. I'll be happy to answer them. Just give me a couple of days to recover. I'm very tired. My family took me to Tucker Pups to play today. It was a lot of fun. Lot's of new smells and plenty of toys. This was the first time I've been there. I think I might be going back soon though. I hear my family talking about some place called Disney all the time. I have a feeling I'm not going along. 

Let's get to my first question. It's from Mike, my male master. (I use that term just to be nice. He brings me food, cleans up my poop, and takes me for walks. Who is the real master?) He asks, "Why do dogs, at least you, like to eat crayons?" 

Well, Mike, when I first did it I was a small puppy and I was curious by the smell. They smelled a little bit like food, so I tried one. It wasn't bad, but I like my treats you give me much better. I just keep eating them now because it makes my poop multi-colored. I think that is neat. I'm just a dog, you know? Plus, it freaks out the squirrels. They think I'm some kind of magic dog since I can make colors come out of my butt. 

That's all for today. Remember, be nice to your pets! I need another nap.