Do You Talk to Your Pet?

The big dog sat on the covered front porch of the two-story cabin. Body alert, eyes bright. When she got out of the car, she signaled release. 

He bounded to her, all hundred and thirty pounds of him wriggling in joy. 

“There’s my good boy. Best dog in the world. So smart. Just so smart.” 

She gave him a brisk rub before retrieving her market bag. 

“You wouldn’t believe the morning I had.” 

She took out her keys as they walked to the house together on the narrow stone path. 

“Minding my own business, buying supplies, and the chief of police comes into the market to interrogate me. What do you think of that?”

The Witness 

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PhotKing ♛ from Cambridge , UK, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Why We Should Talk to Our Dogs More

... and why many would rather confide in dogs than people.

Psychology Today

Your Dog Knows When You're Stressed

 

“Oh, for God’s sake. What does he want now?”

Her tone had Bert growling low in his throat. “Pillow.” Her code word for stand down had the dog relaxing again but watching her for any distress.

The Witness

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Natalia King from Austin, Texas, United States, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

A recent study found that dogs can determine when humans are stressed by smelling their sweat and breath.

Martha Stewart

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She gave him a little shove.

He gave her a little nudge.

And behind him the dog growled low in his throat.

“Stop!” Fiona ordered sharply, and the dog froze. “Newman, friend. Friend. He thought you were hurting me. No, don’t back off. Simon,” she said to the dogs. “We’re playing. Simon’s a friend. Put your arms around me.”

The Search

Guys Who Love Dogs Make The BEST Husbands

First there’d been lust, she thought, naturally enough. Then interest and several

layers of attraction. She’d been prepared—or had been trying to prepare—to shuffle all

those impulses aside and be sensible.

Now, seeing him with her dog, she felt the warming around the heart that signaled—

uh-oh—personal affection. Add that to lust and attraction and a woman, even a sensible

woman, was sunk.

Remember When

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via GIPHY

They're man's best friend for a reason.

Yes, dogs are man's best friend. But they should be you're best friend, too, because they've prepared their owners for being the most amazing husbands ever. So it you're looking for love, you should definitely look for a guy who loves dogs for these reasons.

Your Tango

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His hand stroked up and down her back, the way she sometimes stroked Bert.

No wonder the dog loved it. Her heartbeat slowed to the rhythm, and everything

inside her uncoiled.

The Witness

Tackling your garden makes you happier

She trundled her wheelbarrow back to the greenhouse, wandered through the

smell of rich, moist earth; burgeoning flowers; sharp, strong greens, selecting the

plants she’d nurtured for this particular project.

Good, steady physical labor in the warm afternoon. That made her happy, too.

Who knew she had such a capacity for happy?

The Witness

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By Si Griffiths - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24430196

'The repetitive nature of a lot of gardening jobs allows you to really be in the moment and forget your worries. It may sound corny but the way it clears your mind helps you notice the beauty around you, and in our busy, hectic lives we have filtered out a lot of that, so just getting back to nature can be a real tonic.'

DAILYMAIL

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An hour later, she stepped back and checked her progress before going inside for ice to add to the tea she’d left steeping in the sun.

“It’s going to be beautiful,” she told Bert. “And we’ll be able to sit on the porch and watch the butterflies. I think we’ll draw hummingbirds, too. 
I’ll love seeing all this grow and bloom, the butterflies and birds. We’re putting down roots, Bert. The deeper they go, the more I want them.”

She closed her eyes, lifted her face to the sun.

Oh, she loved the way the air sounded, loved the way it smelled.

The Witness

Had a ruff week?

“He’s smiling.”

“Dogs don’t smile.”

“Give me a break, look at those eyes. He’s smiling.”

The Witness

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via GIPHY

These pictures of grinning dogs are bound to make YOU smile

DAILYMAIL

It's Soup and Stew Time

Then settle down with her leftover soup and read the evening away.

For her, it encompassed a perfect weekend.

“I think action/adventure with a comedy to follow,” she said to Bert as she

gave the soup another stir. “And wine. The chief of police was right. It’s a very

nice one.”

The Witness

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25+ Hearty Soups and Stews to Make This Winter

COUNTRY LIVING

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He followed her, and the cooking smells, back to the kitchen.

“It’s a good night for soup and a fire,” he commented, hoping he’d get a share

of both. “We may get a little frost tonight.”

The Witness

cats and dogs

"Okay. Is that a stuffed bear in his bed?"
"Dogs are pack animals."
"Uh-huh, and a stuffed teddy bear is Bert's pack?"
"It comforts him"


The Witness

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cutest cats and dogs who just can’t be parted from their childhood toys

Many of us had a favourite soft toy when we were kids which we just couldn’t bare to part with wherever we went and whatever we did. Well, it seems that in some cases, the same mindset develops among our beloved pets — give them a toy when they’re still very young, and they’ll love it with all their heart for innumerable years into the future.

BRIGHT SIDE

What We Say to Our Dogs Matters

Simon took Jaws on the second round, stretching the space between them on the “Stay.” 

Then, at Fiona’s instructions, a third time until dog and man were a good twenty-five feet apart.

“Don’t frown at the dog when he’s doing what he’s told.”

“I’m not frowning.”

“Let’s call it your default expression. You’re confusing him. Call him in.”

Jaws responded and took the last couple of feet on his belly before rolling over to expose it.

“You did good, you did fine. Show-off,” Simon muttered as he bent down to rub.

“He switched to submissive mode because he wasn’t sure what you were after. You asked him for

something, he gave it, and you stand there scowling at him. He gets an A.” Fiona knelt down to stroke Jaws into delirium. “You get a C minus.”

“Hey.”

“My class is coming back. Hold him. Give him the stay command and keep him still for a few seconds. Then you can give him the release, let him go greet.”

“How?”

“Sit and stay—holding him as he’s going to want to run and see who’s coming.” As she spoke she

checked her watch for the log. “Then give him the go—use simple phrasing, something natural to you. Say hi, go ahead, greet. Whatever. Then let him loose.”

She rose, walked away to meet the first of her returning students.

“You wanted me to look bad, didn’t you? You think I’m not on to you?” Simon held the puppy in

place while rubbing his ears. “Not as dumb as you look, are you? Just wanted to impress the pretty girl.”

The Search

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By MurielW - Own work, CC0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20498880

Have you ever noticed that there are several things we say to our dogs, repeatedly?  

Well animal behavioral researchers Alexandra Horowitz and Julie Hecht have, and they’ve published their research showing that what we say and how we say it elicits particular responses in them, and why they are key to the dog/human relationship.

LIFE WITH DOGS

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“You know the secrets,” he said to Bert. “Too bad you can’t talk.”

The Witness 

Attract Butterflies to Your Yard

“It’s going to be beautiful,” she told Bert. “And we’ll be able to sit on the porch and watch the butterflies. I think we’ll draw hummingbirds, too. I’ll

love seeing all this grow and bloom, the butterflies and birds. We’re putting down roots, Bert. The deeper they go, the more I want them.”

She closed her eyes, lifted her face to the sun.

Oh, she loved the way the air sounded, loved the way it smelled.

The Witness

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By Charlesjsharp - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27354030

Whether you fill a couple of pots or a whole bed, big clumps of color are what attract butterflies. Plant groups of five or more of a variety rather than a single plant. 

MidwestLiving

You Can Garden for Nature

He'd planted something at regular intervals along the fencing. She could see tender young plants and the carefully packed mulch around them. She imagined he'd done the digging there himself.

Some sort of trailing flowering vine, she supposed, that would, in time, grow and tumble color over the fence.

A patient man, Byron De Witt, she mused. One who would enjoy watching those vines grow and bloom and tangle year after year.

And she knew he would experience a quiet satisfaction when the first bud blossomed. Then he would tend it. The man enjoyed tending things.

Holding the Dream

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Landscape by Minnetonka Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers Holm Design & Consulting LLC

No matter your aesthetic preference — from formal to informal, straight lines to wavy borders — you can garden in a way that honors and supports wildlife and the land that intersects with your landscape.

HOUZZ

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She made four trips, her Glock against her hip, her dog trotting at her heels before she began to lay out the plan she’d sketched out on chilly winter nights.

The cardinal flowers and coneflowers, the sweet-scented heliotrope mixed with airy lantana, the flow of verbena, the charm of New England asters, the elegance of oriental lilies for nectar. She had the sunflowers and hollyhocks and milkweed for host plants to tempt the adults to lay their eggs, the young caterpillars to feed.

She arranged, rearranged, grouped, regrouped, gradually veering away from her initial, somewhat mathematical layout when she found the less rigid and exact pleased her eye.

In case, she took out her phone and took pictures from several angles before she picked up her trowel to dig the first hole.

An hour later, she stepped back and checked her progress before going inside for ice to add to the tea she’d left steeping in the sun.

“It’s going to be beautiful,” she told Bert. “And we’ll be able to sit on the porch and watch the butterflies. I think we’ll draw hummingbirds, too. I’ll love seeing all this grow and bloom, the butterflies and birds. We’re putting down roots, Bert. The deeper they go, the more I want them.”

The Witness

when your dog is a smartypants

She’d seen to the security herself, and she trusted no one else.
Well, she thought, as she stopped the car. Except Bert.
The big dog sat on the covered front porch of the two-story cabin. Body alert, eyes bright. When she got out of the car, she signaled release. He bounded to her, all hundred and thirty pounds of him wriggling in joy.
“There’s my good boy. Best dog in the world. So smart. Just so smart.”

The Witness

(The Witness' Bert is a Bullmastiff) 

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The 10 Smartest Dog Breeds

 

 

Sure your dog's clever … but is he or she one of the smartest dog breeds out there? 

"While all dogs are smart, certain breeds are more intelligent at specific tasks than others," said Lisa Peterson, spokesperson with the American Kennel Club. 

SHINE

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“Now that we’ve got a second coming along, I’m talking Seline into a Lab.”
“Poodle.”
“Girlie dog.”
“We’re girls.” She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. “You’re outnumbered.”
“This one might even things up.” He tapped her belly with his finger. “A guy needs a dog, not a little French toy.”
“Poodles are smart.”
“They are a highly intelligent breed,” Abigail agreed. “Only the border collie is thought to be more intelligent. They’re agile and, if properly trained, very skilled and obedient.”
“See?”
“A Lab’s a dog. They’re smart,” Russ added, appealing to Abigail.
“Yes, of course. They’re the most popular breed in this country, and in Great Britain. They make excellent assistance dogs. They’re loyal, and most have a well-developed play drive. They’re excellent with young children.”
“Young children.” He snagged CeeCee, made the girl laugh as he tossed her in the air. “We’ve got one of those, getting another.”
“Poodles are good with kids.”
When Seline turned to Abigail, Sunny laughed. “Now you’ve done it. These two will tag you as referee in this battle. I’m going to save you, show you the gardens. Food’s going to be ready in a few minutes.”
“Maybe they should consider a Labradoodle,” Abigail murmured

The Witness

10 things Dogs can teach us about Relationships

"I'm going to keep Mongo."

"I know it, honey."

"His leg's doing all right. It'll take a while to heal yet, but he'll be fine. A little gimpy maybe. I was going to find him a good home, but .. . I can't." He looked up, puzzled. "What do you mean you know it? I never keep dogs."

"You hadn't found the right one yet, is all." 

Carolina Moon

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I also have to say that I think I became a much better husband and partner after becoming a veterinarian.

Here are 10 lessons dogs have taught me about making marriage-or any kind of committed relationship-work. 

(Meet Fluky! One of the kindest souls I've met!!!)

A little extra work and attention goes a long way toward making a relationship stronger. So thanks to all the dogs out there for setting a great example and helping us humans be better partners!

YAHOO!SHINE

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“You know the secrets,” he said to Bert. “Too bad you can’t talk.”

The Witness