It may sound crazy but I love this weather, sleet and all. Though really it was more of a light cold mist here in Tulsa while I was out walking Quincy. The dogs we met along our usual walk this morning were all wearing sweaters, except for Quincy. Guess we are gonna have to go to Petsmart and get his winter RV park attire. LOL This is a whole new world for me, the walking the dog thing. I used to just open the patio door, rain or shine and in the case of rain “strongly encourage i.e. shove) him out to do his business. Now that there is no yard, and as in most parks you can’t leave a dog outside, the dogs we encounter are all “inside dogs” which is a whole different realm of dogs. The dogs we encounter are poodles and Pomeranians and weiner dogs, all impeccably groomed. And well…clothed for the weather. Everyone has poop bags in their hand on our RV park walk, ready to swoop down and pick up the poo that their dog leaves behind. We are responsible pet owners. No more dodging piles in the backyard. Nope. Quincy’s poo is properly placed in the “poo” receptacles around the park.
Same along the walking path on the Riverwalk. The dogs along this path are more hardy breeds. Lots of labs and big dogs. Rarely do you see a small dog, probably because the people on the Riverpark path are serious exercisers and their dogs are too. Quincy and his geriatric pace wouldn’t fit in with these puppies. I love that along the path, the human water fountains have a dog bowl built in at the bottom, a dog water fountain.
And on our Saturday morning outings to Cherry Street and the Farmers Market and other places around Tulsa, it is not unusual to see people at sidewalk cafes, dining outside with their dogs at their feet. It reminds me a little of Austin, where you see dogs everywhere and the dog parks are full of dogs playing with their peers.
Quincy rather likes being King of the RV. He has developed a new language in that regard. He used to go the back door and patiently wait until I let him out. Now, he has a specific bark for “time to go outside”. The funniest thing is that when I act like I don’t know what he wants, he tilts his head to the door and nods to show me what he wants. He has a whole different bark for “help me up the 2 steps into the bedroom”. I told Joe he needed to build him a dog ramp. LOL We really thought he couldn’t get up the steps and so we would lift him up at his command. Then we went on an overnight trip. He was in the living area when we left, but when we came home he was in the bedroom having managed the steps on his own. Little faker. After that we ignored his “help me up the steps bark” and after a couple of head nods to show us what he wanted to which we replied “go ahead, you can do it” he would go up the steps like they weren’t there.
Now in the house he had his favorite spots. Mostly he stayed in my closet. If there was a thunderstorm you would find him in the bathroom cowering behind the door. If Puggy were visiting he would be under the bed since Puggy couldn’t fit under there. When company came he was on the floor at their feet, rolled over and expecting belly rubs until I told him to go away and leave us alone. Then he would retire to his dog bed and pout.
In the RV he has new favorite spots and it’s not as hard to find him ‘cause there isn’t a lot of space to check when he’s missing. Mostly he stays in one of the corners in the living room. Ocassionally, he parks himself under Joe’s desk area and growls when Joe moves his foot. Sometimes, for no reason at all he decides that he needs to guard his food bowl and so he lays nearby. If I get up and go into the kitchen where it is, he gets up and stands in front of it. If Joe gets up he tries to bite his feet as he walks near. He obviously has seen Joe eat…lol…and thinks he’ll eat his dog food too.
Joe has learned to announce as he comes through the door when he gets off work late at night “its me Quincy” before the barking commences. And as he comes to bed, he knows its better to climb over me to get to his side than to walk around the bed and disturb “King Quincy” who favors sleeping on Joe’s side of the bed and snapping and growling at his feet if disturbed.
One night we cooked out and had T bones. The bones were as big as the dog. I gave Quincy one and when he picked it up, his chin dropped to the floor. Took him about 2 days to polish off that bone and during that time frame Joe and I had to be very careful where we walked. If we came within a foot of the bone, out of nowhere Quincy appeared snarling and growling. One day Joe asked if I could get him some water. Since we were both seated and the same distance from the kitchen I looked at him with a “are your legs broke” expression. To which he nodded to the kitchen where Quincy and bone had taken up residence in front of the refrigerator. I had to laugh. My 6 ft tall husband afraid of a 5 pound Yorkie. LOL
Which is not a bad idea. Yorkies can be vicious. I once picked up a stray Yorkie and ended up having to have a rabies shot series when he clamped down on my hand and refused to let go. When I finally slung him off my hand and he ran off, I ended up in the ER with puncture wounds that required both a tetnus shot and several weeks of rabies shots at a huge cost to me in co-pays. Those shots are rather pricey! Good reason not to approach a stray.
My sister’s Puggle Lucky is the sweetest little dog. We kept him for 10 days while they were in Maine and he readily substituted me as his “master” following on my heels so closely that when I stopped he would bump into me. He loves to ride in a car and so merely picking up your keys sent him into a frenzy. When he actually did get to ride he was absolutely enthralled. Once when he got loose, all I had to do was say “you want to go for a ride Lucky?” which cause him to stop dead in his tracks, turn around and run back to me and wait for the car door to be opened. Quincy on the other hand does not like the car. I think he associates it with being kenneled while I travel, or going to the vet. Andy’s dog Toki hates riding in the car also. He loves going to the park but the car ride he could live without. He nervously paces and bolts out the minute the door opens, glad it’s over with. Traveling with him 8 hours once back from Austin, I was a nervous wreck from his pacing. He never laid down the entire trip. Just paced back and forth and I felt sorry for him, assuring him that it was just a little further and seeing him look at me like a kid being told a shot wouldn’t hurt.
Puggy and Layla are great travelers. They don’t care if they have to ride. Their priority is being with Juliet and Chris. As long as their humans are there they don’t care how long the ride or where the ride ends. Traveling from Muskogee to Austin once to return the “granddoggies” was a lot easier than traveling from Muskogee to Austin years ago with 2 young boys. Dogs don’t care who rides in the front seat, what music is playing on the radio or if one of them accidently touches the other in the course of the ride. LOL
It’s funny to watch the interaction of the dogs along our daily “poo” outings. There are 3 weiner dogs who walk in sync on a leash with one handle and 3 collar clips with their owner. When they see Quincy they nearly pull their elderly owner down trying to get to Quincy as their owner calls out to me “they don’t like other dogs” warning me to keep Quincy, whose tail is wagging in anticipation of some doggie play, on my side of the street. There are 2 poodles who we regularly meet who love to meet up with Quincy. Their tails wag in happiness as they all meet up on the end of the leash and greet each other. The next door neighbors older dog doesn’t much like Quincy and keeps his distance while their new Maltipoo puppy jumps around excitedly when Quincy comes near, happy to interact.
My sister says that on her walks with Lucky he senses when the 2 Shitzus are outside along the path they take. He begins to whimper and drag his feet before he even sees them. He is terrified of these 2 little dogs ½ his size. This a dog that lives with 4 cats. My sister says the dogs are little bullies. She calls them the little Shitz. LOL They are not loose and so can’t get to Lucky but intimidate him as he passes with their snarls and barking. Kinda like the cute little Pomeranian that goes ballistic when Quincy walks by his “fence”…one of the few fenced dogs in the park. This little nutcase charges the fence over and over as Quincy passes thinking he can knock it down I guess. Quincy will go up to the fence and wag his tail as the dog is propelling himself against it. I think he likes tormenting the poor dog. Then he lifts his leg and pees on the fence, sometimes on the Pom if it’s close enough as I drag him away admonishing him to not be a bully! And I make sure as we pass the RV with a huge NO DOGS sign in their yard that he stays on the other side of the street. Though I wish I would see the person outside one day to find out what the deal is with the sign. What prompted them to post it in their yard. Bad dog experience?
I expect that as the weather gets colder Quincy will want to go out less and less and so my day will not revolve around taking the dog outside to pee. Too bad I am not a knitter. I could spend the hours in the day where I am bored out of my mind while Joe is working and I’m not making Quincy a sweater! NOT!
Time to fill the dog bowl…Bone Appetit.
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