Old Dogs, New Tricks

Well, it seems that Morgan's addition to our family has taught a few of our family members some new tricks.

First, we have Lilac.  She has learned to go on bark patrol with Morgan, but I suspect that this was really a lure to get Morgan under her wing as her new protégé.  Now I can picture you there, wondering what sort of thievery Lilac has taught our young and impressionable Shepherd lass.  However, it's not thievery that Morgan has learned under Lilac's tutelage.  It's not the artful display of a bag of garbage, either, thank goodness.  Lilac isn't sharing her fan, so it has not been how to achieve the best position for ultimate belly cooling, either. 

No, Lilac has made an early riser out of Miss Morgan.  These days, Lilac never wakes us up in the morning.  She sleeps the deep sleep of the slumbering log, content with the knowledge that Morgan will be on alert a full ten minutes before the alarm clock goes off, and that she will find a way to make my morning stumble to the bathroom a complete obstacle course that I must navigate in the dark.  Every morning I just hope I make it without breaking a toe, stepping on Lilac or Blueberry, tripping over Morgan or waking Mr. Taleteller as I make my way out of the bedroom in a slow motion shuffle.  Every morning, I swear I can see a little smirk on Lilac's face in the predawn glow that filters in under the shade.

Lilac:  I can die happy now!  My work here is finished.  Finally I have a worthy successor!

Me:  (grumbing)  Yeah, well, you're not dead yet, and the vet assures me that you are very healthy for such an old bat.  I am sure I can find some way to get even.

Lilac:  Well, you think about that!  I'm going back to sleep.

Morgan:  Good morning!  Good morrrrrrrrning!  It's time to start a new day!  Good morning!  Good morning...to YOU!

Me:  Can I just get by now, please?  I really need to use the bathroom.

Morgan:  Oh, the bathroom!  That's a great idea!  Hey DAD!

And so I retreat to the sanctity of the bathroom and try to clear the cobwebs from my head as Mr. Taleteller and the Greyhounds join Morgan for the morning routine.

I mentioned that there were others who'd learned new things from Morgan.  That would be Mr. Taleteller.  After Morgan's Close Encounter of the Rabbit Kind, she has been on full alert when walking past the bayberry bush.  It's not only the bayberry bush, though.  The crepe myrtles and forsythia bushes might also be harboring dangerous rabbit felons.  Morgan feels that she must inspect each shrub carefully several times a day.  Mr. Taleteller and I disagree.  However, nothing deters her.

So, Mr. Taleteller made up his mind that he was going to give Morgan a sharp correction with the leash while she was wearing her leather collar.  They walked out toward the forsythia bush and Morgan went into alert mode.  Mr. Taleteller planted his feet on the ground, wound his hands tightly around the leash, pulled hard, and found himself sprawled on the ground.  Morgan had turned and come back towards him, leaving him giving a correction to empty air.  I'm sure our neighbors enjoyed the show.  I assure you that only his pride was hurt.  I know I saw Lilac giving her a paws up when she came back in the house.

Also, much to my great regret, there were no photographs of the escapade, but Mr. Taleteller is quite relieved!

Wordless Wednesday 8/18 -- A Possible Thaw in Greyhound - German Shepherd Relations

A One Track Mind

I have a feeling that there's one way that living with Greyhounds has affected Morgan.  It appears that she's caught a healthy dose of rabbit fever.  We believe that she caught it early on, after she took a dive into the neighbors shrubs after one of the little pests one night. 

We have on particularly stupid rabbit living in our yard this year.  When he's not sitting right outside the turn out pen, he's lurking under a certain bayberry bush near the house.  Morgan knows where this rabbit likes to hang out.  In fact, she's so keen to get a shot at this rabbit that she will pretend that she needs to go outside to go potty to get a shot at him.

Saturday afternoon, Morgan and Mr. Taleteller were outside practicing their obedience.  Why they were out in the heat practicing and why they were walking past that bayberry bush are facts that are beyond me, but I do not try to understand the complicated workings of the male mind.  I just accept it for what it is.  Anyhow, they were outside practicing and Morgan was working quite intently on her heeling. 

The exact details of what happened next are a bit blurry.  The next thing my husband knew, they were headed for the bayberry bush and his left arm was three inches longer than the right.  Morgan finally emerged from the bush with white cottontail fur in her teeth.  I strongly suspect that neither Mr. Taleteller nor the rabbit knew what had hit them.

The Greyhounds have a whole new respect for Morgan now.  Whether the rabbit returns remains to be seen.  I just know that if I take Morgan out, I am not walking her past the bayberry bush!

It's Hot

Bunny here, typing at the keyboard with a poem I wrote in honor of this weekend's weather.

It's too darned hot to go outside
The shadows want to go and hide

My paws get blisters at the thought
Of going out, it's that darned hot

I wish this heat would go away
So I could go outside and play

I do not like it one darned bit
I can't even go outside to sit

There's only one thing about this heat
I get to eat a frozen treat

Frosty Paws have saved the day
So inside we'll have to stay

How have you guys been beating the weather lately?  I need some ideas!

Backpacking To School

Bunny here, writing about my exciting trip to school with Mom this week.

I have to confess, I've felt a little left out here lately.  Morgan and Blueberry are always playing together and Morgan is always getting in Mom or Dad's face for attention.  I've started feeling like the invisible puppy.  When Mom asked me if I wanted to go with her this morning, my tail would not stop wagging!  It was a trip just for me.

Since we were going to Mom's school, I decided to wear my back pack.  All the kids get to wear theirs to school, so I figured I'd carry my treats and water bowl in mine.  For the record, I did NOT carry poop in my back pack at any time, despite all those taunts from Dad.

Some of the kids in class were there last year, too, so they knew me already.  There were kids who have moved on to Kindergarten, too, who knew I was going to be there and came down to see me before they went to class.  One of them was my biggest fan from last year and I was really glad to see her.

A lot of them wanted to see me and they spent a lot of time petting me and catching up about what we all did over the summer.  I got acquainted with some of the new students, too.  I was surprised that they thought I am a big dog.  Wait until they meet Blueberry and Morgan!

Several of the kids asked if they could read to me.  I thought it was a great idea and we went over to the carpet by the books so we could get comfortable.  It was a little hard to pay attention to four stories at one time, but I did my best.  I was a little miffed that this one boy had a book with German Shepherd on it.  I asked Mom to make sure there was a Greyhound book there next time.

All too soon, it was time for me to go.  Dad came and picked me up.  The best part was that we went to Petsmart together before I went home.  After that, I enjoyed a nice nap until Mom got home from work.  It's hard work going to school!

We're participating in the Pet Blog Hop today.  It's a fun way to find other pet blogs and maybe attract a few new followers.  We are so thankful that Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume host this blog hop every Saturday.

If you'd like to join in, add your link in the McLinky tool, copy the code and paste it into the html code of your blog post.  Follow the hosts of the blog hop and join in and have fun!