Farley here,
Can someone send me a design for new boots?
Yesterday, we went snowshoeing. As usual, Kristina tucked my paws into little booties before we left the house.
But look what happened.
Snowballs everywhere. My paws are protected, but my legs and head aren’t.
You might wonder why I have so much snow on my face when I walk on my feet.
Well, I love to rub my nose in the snow.
So really I need new boots and a nose protector.
Woof Woof.
Farley here,
Snow. I love to play in snow.
But snow loves to stick to my fur.
When I get home, my choices are a warm bath or twenty minutes of Kristina grooming me to get the snow out of my fur.
I really, really, really don’t like a bath, so I choose grooming.
The best part…If I shiver a little and pretend I’m cold, Kristina will wrap me in a towel and give me a hug.
Who would ever choose a bath over that?
Woof Woof.
Farley here,
Winter has arrived, and with that my fashion has changed.
Kristina makes me wear boots. We meet in the front hall, and she puts on her coat and boots. I wait until she turns to me with the dreaded boots.
I resist the boots by stretching my toes, so it makes it hard for Kristina to get the boots on tight. I’m thinking, “Maybe I can lose the boots in the snow.”
No such luck at first.
But then we hit deep snow. First I lose one…then another…then the third.
That back one just won’t fall off. I think I’ve gotten away with this until my pads start to hurt. I flatten in the snow and try to pick the ice out of my pads with my teeth.
Kristina walks towards me. Mathew has gone in search of my boots.
I roll my big brown eyes at her and wag my tail. I hope she isn’t mad at me.
She smiles, kneels in the snow, and takes off her winter mitts. She pokes in between my pads and gets the ice out. This takes a while. Her hands turn red. She’s shaking a little, so I know she’s cold, but she keeps going.
Then she wraps her hands around my paws, one by one, and warms them up.
Mathew returns with my boots, and puts them back on. This time I’ll try to keep them on.
My humans are the best.
Woof Woof
Farley here.
Kristina loves dogs. That’s fine, but she should love me the most.
To get her fill of other dogs, she likes to do something she calls “Dog Sitting.”
I like it when she dogs sits other dogs and we’re outside.
But when a dog enters my home, I have to claim Kristina as mine.
I don’t mind sharing a stick, but I do mind sharing Kristina. No one else can go near her!
Woof Woof
Farley here,
Two obstacles stand in the way of my off-leash freedom. Bears and golfers.
I haven’t seen a bear in weeks. Dare I suggest they’ve all gone to a higher altitude in search of a place to hibernate?
When winter is on the way, golfers go south, I think.
For me the coming winter is a reason to celebrate. I have miles of open grass to play on. There are sticks everywhere in the forest. I don’t have to wear a leash. And…My hair grows long.
Three cheers for winter!
Woof Woof
Farley here,
Nine years ago today, I started taking care of Kristina and Mathew. They had a lot to learn.
Look how cute they were that first day! I look a little shocked, but I got the hang of taking care of humans (meaning getting them to do what I want) pretty quickly.
First, make sure your human knows when to feed you. Pawing at the bowl and banging it against the wall is a great training technique. This works for the water bowl, too.
Then, make sure they put your crate or bed in their bedroom. This is easy too. Practice your best sad cry at 3 am. Don’t stop until crate/bed is moved beside your human. It only took me a year to move from the crate to their bed.
Humans don’t like it if you pee inside the house, so run to the door and prance in circles. A little woof will get their attention. If they’re not understanding you, squat but don’t pee yet. They’ll run from wherever they are and open the door.
Most importantly, we dogs need a lot of love. To get invited onto a lap, sit at a humans feet, gently place you head on their foot, and give them your best loving eyes. Nudge their hand. Give a a little kiss – not too much because slobber is not appreciated. Before you know it, the human will pick you up and snuggle with you on their lap.
That’s the basics of training a human. Good luck!
Woof Woof
Farley here,
Happiness has descended on my village. Yup, I live in a small village.
Every spring, something bad happens. Golfers arrive and take over my park. From May to October, they hit some little ball into a hole. They don’t even chase the balls and bring it back. They just cheer if it goes into the hole. Kind of odd behaviour.
But every fall, they leave. I don’t know where they go, but now I’m free to roam and play,
Check out my terrain!
There are multiple places for me to dig in the sand.
There are tons of sticks in the forest for my to carry and chew.
You can’t see them, but there are also ponds for me to swim in.
And…And…there is no leash in sight.
So yes, happiness has descended on my village.
Woof Woof. Wag Wag.
Farley here,
I live 1200 meters above sea level. The water in our creeks comes from mountain lakes, but somehow they never seem cold to me.
I try to get Kristina to come swimming, and she won’t even get her toes wet in the summers. I’m giving her my best come-swim-with-me eyes, and she’s just laughing at me.
So now it’s September, and I don’t believe I’ll get her to swim with me.
I’ll go in all winter – that’s cause I’m tough!
Woof Woof.
Farley here,
Playing at the pond with my pal Flint.
My human throws a stick. I’m don’t like to swim, so I wait for Flint to get the stick. I’ve a plan to get the stick…and I’m sneaky…
Flint has no idea I’m making him do the work. But here he comes, and I’ll get the stick without having to swim.
As it turns out, my plan didn’t work. The trickster gets the stick and takes off. I give Kristina my best stare, but she doesn’t understand she’s supposed to get the stick from Flint and hand it to me!
Grrr….
Woof Woof
Farley here,
So most of you know I don’t beg for food. Kristina thinks it’s because the humans never feed me from the dinner table.
But what’s up with Piper?
Her eyes are bugling from their sockets. She’s so surprised that not only is she sitting at the dinner table…she’s being hand fed!
Even though she’s shocked by this human behaviour, she is willing to eat.
Someone throw me a cookie 🙂
Woof Woof
Kristina Stanley 