The cat got my tongue but now I’m back.

One of the blogs I follow is Sprinkles  and today Sprinkles had a list of questions posted by “Curious as a Cat”. My human and I enjoyed reading what Sprinkles wrote, so I thought I would answer the Curious Cat’s questions too.

1.      Would you rather be rich, or famous? Why?

Famous. I am already rich as I have enough food to make me fat (if I eat too much), a warm bed, lots of toys, my own vehicle (complete with a chauffeur), Enzo to play with and a family that loves me so famous (even if it is only in my small part of the blog world) is still something for me to aspire to.

2.      Of all your relatives, which one have you not seen for the longest time? How long has it been?

My dad - he was born and lived in England and I have never met him. My actual mum and I were whelped and raised in New Zealand. My mum has never met my dad - note even seven years ago. Go figure! It must be true because his name is on my pedigree. One day when I am old enough I will understand.

3.      If you had a “theme song” that played whenever you walk into a room full of people, what would it be?

“Who let the dogs out” of course!

4.      Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or tell a story if it reminds you of one.

This looks like an over sized version of my dog kennel. When my humans bought their house twenty years ago it came with an old timber kennel in the back yard. My humans saw the kennel as a sign to get their first Golden Retriever and he used the kennel for twelve years. The kennel is still there looking very weathered and has plants growing beside it. I have lived here for six and a half years but have never spent one night outside in that kennel. I was meant to sleep outside, but I convinced my family to let me sleep inside the their house on a soft dog bed in the family room unless we are away at the beach when I sleep on the porch. Here in Auckland I’m still working on being allowed to sleep in their bedroom every night!

Now where did that cat go? While I'm looking for the cat why don't you wander over to Sprinkles blog and check out her answers as they are so different to mine. 

Woofs,

Riley

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

“Let the good times roll…”

(Enzo)

In posting these photos mum remembered the lyrics of that classic 1970’s song by “The Cars”.  The lyrics sort of fit what Enzo and I get up to when we each get a cardboard roll (the long tube from the inside of things like kitchen tin foil, Gladwrap plastic film, baking paper, etc.). Mum only saves the really tough ones, and when there are two tubes we both let the good times roll.

We leap about all excited, and I shred mine to pieces as fast as I can. Shredding things makes me so happy! Enzo runs outside and uses his roll as a stick for a game of fetch with the two legged ones. Eventually, when Enzo tires, I chase after him, bark loudly (hardly unable to contain my excitement), chase him around the lawn a few times, then steal his roll and shred it too!

Let the good times roll
Let them knock you around
Let the good times roll
Let them make you a clown 

 

Let them leave you up in the air

Let them brush your rock and roll hair

 

Let the good times roll

Let the good times roll

Let the good times roll

 

Let the stories be told

They can say what they want

Let the photos be old

Let them show what they want 

 

 

Let them leave you up in the air

Let them brush your rock and roll hair

Let the good times roll

Let the good times roll-roll

Won't you let the good times roll...

Woofs,

Riley

 

 

Video of a three legged robber - so what do you steal?

We barked out loud at this news item about a dog here in New Zealand who was filmed stealing dog food from the local shop, while his owners were away on holiday.

Seeing Oscar made my mum think about how her first dog used to steal toast. Her old toaster would randomly fire pieces of toast onto the kitchen floor at a ratio of about one piece sent into the air for every six times she toasted bread. If she went out of the kitchen and toast fired onto the floor would diappear before she could get to it to give it to the birds!

Enzo is well known for his tissue stealing ability. No tissue is safe in the pockets of humans who are sitting down. He generally leaves most other things around the house, but if when he finds empty socks he takes them back to his bed!

So what do you steal, and have you ever been caught on camera?

Seasons Greetings

It is summer here in New Zealand, and Enzo and I have been enjoying a pre-Christmas holiday at the beach. A week of swimming, wave jumping, chasing toys, running in the sand, long walks, BBQ food and sleeping on the deck under the stars.

We wish all our fur-rends Merry Christmas and all the best for 2013.

Love
Riley (on the right) and Enzo  - a.k.a the salty dogs!

They did it!

Two dogs both drove a car without a human touching the car's controls! You can see how they did here...

http://www.3news.co.nz/Driving-dogs-test-out-their-skills-on-the-track/tabid/367/articleID/279908/Default.aspx

Woofs,
Riley

Teaching dogs new tricks

I want to learn to drive, and I want a Mini to be my first car! I now know this dream is possible as I watched three dogs on TV last night learning to drive a car... yes you read that right, here in New Zealand, as part of the SPCA's latest promotion to get people to adopt dogs, dogs are being taught drive. Next Monday night, LIVE on national TV, the top dog is going to drive a human around a car race track without any human help!

Have a look at this short video (1:16 minutes long),

and if you are interested in more detail see TV last night  (8:57minutes long) for the step by step training method and dogs driving (ignore the advertisement at the front - the driving part is about 3/4 of the way in), and the SPCA Auckland Facebook page.

The dogs are almost fully trained. On Monday night my human and I will be in front of our big black box watching live... and if the dog drives by himself then I want to be first in line for my very own doggie driving lessons from these guys. I will let you know how thins go. My paws will be crossed for a good result.

Just imagine - no more waiting to be chauffeured around, no more letting my human decide where we go, I could just get behind the wheel of "my Mini", let the wind blow in my fur while I go wherever I want. I could even drive my humans around.

Woofs,
Riley

Something different - aeroplanes and Hobbits

Just in case fly or like Hobbits, here is the latest video from Air New Zealand (our national airline) which has had over 8.8 million views on You Tube in the last two weeks. Now that number seems a lot to me as New Zealand is only a small country of 4.4 million people.

Who knew that an airline safety could become something people would actually choose to watch when they weren't inside an aeroplane!

If there was ever a safety video made for cats and dogs (e.g. the rules how to behave in a confined space) I wonder what it would be like? What instructions would we need?  Any ideas? Do cats get to leave first and dogs chase follow as fast as we can  calmly, or do the dogs obey instructions while the cats get to do whatever they want?

What do you think?
 
Woofs,
Riley

Musical beds.

I feel the need to explain the photo in my last Wordless Wednesday post. You see, Ted's comment was right. I wasn't at all happy as young Enzo and I had had a bit of a disagreement over our sleeping arrangements.

As a small puppy Enzo slept in a crate with the door closed. He slept with his security blanket - a little cream thing that he arrived with when he was eight weeks old. It had the smells of his brothers and sisters and mother, and he still (at 22 months old) finds his blanket comforting and carries it around even though mum's washed it many times.

As he got older he continued to sleep in his crate (with the door open).

 

 

I slept on an old hand-me down bed from the last Golden Retriever that lived in this house. It is my space, reasonably comfy and when my humans give me the "Bed" command I know that I have to stay there until mum gets up in the morning and gives me a tummy rub to release me so I can check out the garden.

 

Anyway, for some reason our two legged ones decided to remove the crate. Enzo had discovered an old bean bag, and every time it was put on the floor he couldn't resist making a little nest for himself, so they thought he might  like it to be his bed. 

 

 

 

I tried his bean bag once, but didn't enjoy the experience!However they put the bean bag on the floor beside my bed for him, and this is how we slept at night.

 

 

 

 

Until  he started doing this, and if I wanted my morning tummy rub I knew that I couldn't leave my bed.

 

 

 

 

There are other beds in our house that he could have gone to. In the family room we have a 1.8m long fabric covered piece of foam, where we rest while our humans watch TV. You would think Enzo would lie at one end of it and I could stretch out at the other end as there is enough space for the two of us, but he just uses me as a cushion while he chews on his toys.

 

 

 

 

 

Again he is at my end taking up space, though at least in this photo I have the upper paw!

 

 

 

 

 

At night they would send him to his bean bag and every morning at around 3am, even though they sleep at the other end of the house, they heard him moving around (to nest, to move to my bed, to go somewhere else, etc). He's also one of those dogs who woofs loudly as he chases rabbits in his sleep, so the bean bag rustling noises occurred often and our humans decided maybe Enzo needed a bed that wasn't a bean bag.

 

  

Guess what... they bought a new dog bed especially for him. As you can see, Enzo needs to be taught how to fit onto it, but he spent the first few days quite content, rubbing his face in the fabric, rolling round on his back and carrying his blanket to his bed.

 

 

 

He even slept on it all night. Then he decided he wanted "my bed" again so I started using his empty bed. I found his bed very comfy and big enough for me to relax on, with or without his blanket.

 

 

As you can see we both have enough space to sleep...

 

 

 

 

 

but now he has started doing this again.

What does a dog have to do to get a bed of his own where he can sleep at night undisturbed, as each morning our humans never know where they will find us or even if one of us will end up on the floor boards without a bed?

Woofs,
Riley

Wordless Wednesday

No labour on Labour Day

Today is public holiday (a.k.a. day off work) in New Zealand called “Labour Day” so first a little bit of history…

“Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day. New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to claim this right when, in 1840, the carpenter Samuel Parnell won an eight-hour day in Wellington. Labour Day was first celebrated in New Zealand on 28 October 1890, when several thousand trade union members and supporters attended parades in the main centres. Government employees were given the day off to attend the parades and many businesses closed for at least part of the day.” (source http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/labour-day )

It is our only public holiday until Christmas Day. Labour Day (spelt with a "u" in this part of the world) signals the start of summer. Many New Zealanders go away for the “three day weekend” or stay home and catch up on chores around their house and garden. It is traditionally the time to plant tomato seedlings, as the winter frosts should be over.

Now I’ve been thinking that I work more than an eight hour day. I spend my time cleaning food bowls, getting my humans to exercise, getting my humans to open doors, following them around the house, greeting the neighbours, checking on the neighbourhood cats, sniffing around the property, educating young Enzo in doggie ways, wrestling with Enzo (to show him who is really top dog!), depositing fur around my estate, posing for cute photo opportunities, fetching things and moving my toys around the house. I bark at strange cats, I bark at strange cars and I bark sometimes just for joy. I make strange noises when I stand at the front door and put paw prints over the floor boards. I train my human to think she is training me, and so far I have taught her how often to give me extra food. I retrieve balls; I lie on my back and allow her to feel relaxed (as she passes a brush through my fur), and I make her smile. I follow her around; lie on her feet (to keep her feet warm) as she writes my blog.  I accompany her in our car, and if she goes out without me I always eagerly great her when she returns home. I know I work more than eight hours each day, so today I think I will do this all day and I'll see if she notices!

 

Woofs,

Riley

Woofless Wednesday - bird song, toys, long grass and daisies!