Update: Sadie’s Foolish Ways

Thanks to everyone who has sent us comments related to our post on Sadie’s alleged foolishness. There seems to be a consensus among our readers that Sadie may be foolish, but not for taking walks off lead with Lily. In fact, two days ago we were complimented by one of the neighbors on the cuteness of the sight of Sadie and Lily on their walks, Sadie just hopping along side of Lily’s long strides.

On the other hand, there is the rolling behavior we have mentioned so often (see posts here, here, here, and here)  in regard to Sadie and her love of the forest. To be sure, Lily really enjoys a nice long stretch while laying on the ground. She loves to roll as much as any other dog does. However, we suggest that rolling is one thing and Rolling with a capital R is different altogether. Sadie engages in Rolling with a capital R.  She finds things, all kinds of things – to roll in. This week alone she rolled on: pizza crumbs, a dead bird, wet grass on the playground, a shredded tennis ball, the bed and carpet after each one of her daily baths, the couch, and the back yard deck. Lily rolled just once, lowercase, on the grass at the playground in order to receive a belly rub from Bali’s people.

We have tried to capture Sadie’s Rolling mannerisms on film, but one of the unique aspects of her habit is that you cannot predict when she will do it, you only know that she will do it sometime soon. We hope to share some images of the gusto with which she dives to the ground, head and ears first, finds the smelliest part, and thrashes her tiny body into the action. Now that is foolishly fun and everyone always chuckles at the sight of her.

Sadie watches from her post on the sofa

MM & RY 2008

Is Sadie Foolish?

Foolish or merely silly?

Yesterday, Sadie and Lily’s afternoon walk provoked the strong critique from another dog-walker, who said to Sadie: “Are you foolish?” He was referring to the sight of her running in a circle around us – as the moon orbits the earth -  while walking down the street. Lily is always leashed for her long walks. This is due to one main factor: she wiggles a lot when she greets others. Although she is not prone to running away or chasing things down the busy sidewalks and streets of Fairmount, she is still a puppy at heart. When she meets new people and dogs, the tail wiggle starts and the body follows. We have worked hard to teach her to respect the space of others, and she is extremely compliant with that rule despite the fact that she would clearly prefer to jump on anyone and share a big, sloppy, wet kiss greeting – on the face.

Sadie, on the other hand, poses no such threat, at least none that we have observed. Have we mentioned recently that she is 13 pounds? Have we reminded you of what a great sitter she is? Of her eagerness to please? Of her razor sharp dog intellect and sensory talents? All of these characteristics of little Sadie add up to one simple fact: she often walks with us, by our side or in orbit, without a leash. We have seen quite a few Cesar Milan videos showing Daddy the pit bull doing the same thing – because he is well trained and a calm, submissive dog. While “calm” is not the word that comes to mind with Sadie, she surely is extremely submissive, mindful of her commands, and literally harmless – not because she is small, but because she aims to please at all times and is therefore obedient during her walks.

Apparently, not everyone is amused by the sight of Sadie circling us as we walk around the block. We were reminded of this yesterday when Sadie was called “foolish,” and we were strongly admonished for her leash-less state of being. To be sure, the leash is required in Philadelphia and we were in the wrong. The issue for that individual was that his two  Labrador Retriever dogs were not under control, and he was afraid that Sadie would add to their excited state of mind. They are few dog walking events worse than being dragged down urban streets as they seek to connect with other dogs. Concern for injuries to people and dogs along with controlling the dog mayhem that can result when too many furry friends are under foot are reason enough for us to stop our leash-less ways.

So, Sadiepie, while we do not think you are foolish per se, you shall be properly harnessed and leashed on the sidewalks of Fairmount.

MM & RY 2008

When the Playground is Scary

Sadie and Lily had a true playground adventure last night. Our usually happy go lucky late afternoon doggie play date turned a little dark as Sadie was dominated by one of the more aggressive dogs and Lily made the decision to cross Kelly Drive.

Let’s start with Lily’s adventure and back up to Sadie’s. There is no telling why Lily decided that she wanted to cross one of Philadelphia’s busiest streets. On the side across Kelly Drive from the playground is a walk/bike/roll/run path that is used by hundreds of exercisers each day. What happens on the path is always interesting to Lily.  There are lots of people moving quickly on bikes and skates. Many dogs are running partners with their humans. Children are strolled. Lately, some artists have set up easels to paint the scenes and landscapes. Families and friends hold picnics. Couples take walks hand in hand.

We are always mindful of Lily’s interest in the activities of the path. Yesterday, something caught Lily’s attention and drew her in. She ran full throttle towards Kelly Drive. Everyone gasped as Lily sped closer to the edge of the road. It is not clear what she saw or why she stopped. Little Sadie was chasing with all her speed to catch up and coax Lily to rejoin the other dogs. Dillan chased Sadie. Mini chased Dillan. Lily finally did return when she finally heard her name called. She walked back slowly and lounged the rest of the evening with the other dogs.

Sadie’s adventure involved play with Mini, a mini-poodle/mini-schnauzer mix about her size and color. Sadie and Mini share something important in common. They both live with Boxers. Mini’s boxer is named Cassius. He is about a year old, cute as can be, and sparkly in personality. Like Sadie and Lily, Mini and Cassius are best buddies. They do everything together. They love Sadie and Lily. Sadie and Mini were playing with a beagle puppy when another dog busted onto the playground. He immediately went for Sadie and within seconds she was lying on her back, paws kicking, whimpering. The other dog had pinned her and had her in a neck choke with his mouth. Cassius and Mini were barking and trying to get the other dog to back down. The people ran from every direction to separate the dogs. Sadie was quickly freed and the other dog shooed away. Eventually Sadie and her attacker made up and played together for the rest of the evening. But Sadie’s vulnerability reminded us that even though her personality is large and her heart and spirit even larger, she is still a 13 pound squirt of a dog.

We are happy to report that little Sadie and Tiger Lily are safe and sound after the evening adventures.

Sadie relaxes after her adventure on the playground

MM and RY 2008

Honorable Mention – Sadie and Lily on the Sport of Gymnastics

Sadie and Lily are not enthusiastic fans of gymnastics. They enjoy the running, jumping and leaping bits. But they really do not have good comprehension of the implications of the need for upper body strength.

The vault is something to run around not jump over. The pommel horse looks exactly the same as the vault from their heights. On TV they can see the handles, but what is the point really of swinging your body over it using paws when you can grab the parallel rings with your mouth and swing off the ground in great big circles. That is really much more fun.

The even and uneven parallel bars don’t provide shade, can’t be mounted or balanced on, and are too high off of the ground to chew.

The dogs have mixed opinions about the balance beam. Sadie is cool with the beam; she walks across curbs and ledges in perfect balance all the time. At a whopping 13 pounds, she would easily be the tiniest gymnist imaginable, able to scurry across the beam and do a terrific dismount. There is no doubt that she could land on all four paws for a stuck landing. Lily, on the other hand, is baffled by the thing. It can’t be hopped over, and it surely can’t be walked on. It is waaaaayyyy, way to heavy to drag.

Despite the fact that Sadie and Lily are not huge gymnastics events fans, they do love the practice equipment, especially the trampoline. Here are our honorable mention Youtube videos that show our favorite dog videos related to the quasi-gymnastic events – for dogs!

Honorable Mention, Trampoline by Sadie and Lily

Lola the basset hound loves to run around her human mommy on the trampoline.

Honorable Mention, Floor by Sadie and Lily

Floor gymnast wanna be or typical bouncing boxer: you decide:

Honorable Mention, Tire Swing by Sadie and Lily

Here we see Parker relentlessly attempt to grab the rope that attaches the tire to the tree.

MM & RY 2008

Youtube Videos of Dogs in Pools in honor of the Beijing Olympians

Sadie and Lily have enthusiastically watched swimming events in the Beijing Olympics. They love listening to Inside the Swimroom Podcasts for the hip commentary on the events.

The girls love the relay events because there is a stick involved in the water play. They found it particularly exciting to watch the women’s 4×100 relay anchored by Dara Torres. She’s a competing mom who has won nine medals in five Olympic games. We think that is totally awesome.

They have also been thrilled at Michael Phelps’ performances, but for different reasons than their human family. His medal counts, world records and place in Olympic and sporting history are of course not registered by our dogs. But his ability to cross the pool to meet his objective, the fact that he wins every chase, and his seemingly perpetual happy disposition at the end of the event are the live for the moment bits they connect with.

We honor the accomplishments of Dara and Michael and all the Olympic swimmers by sharing some doggie swimming Youtube videos. We have placed these in order: Gold, Silver and Bronze to reflect the times.

GOLD Medal for best Dog Youtube Video, according to Sadie and Lily

Fanda Russel Terrier shows amazing cuteness jumping in the river to get her stick.

SILVER Medal for best Dog Youtube Video, according to Sadie and Lily

Watch Conan’s guts and determination swimming to mom.

BRONZE Medal for best Dog Youtube Video, according to Sadie and Lily

Here is a Youtube video of Toby showing dog near perfect swimming form – OUT of the water.

MM & RY 2008

Sadie and Lily at the Entrance: Clickable Portraits

National Dog Day Post Update: August 26 Event in Maryland Cancelled

UPDATE

We posted on the upcoming events around National Dog Day 2008 on May 27, 2008. The event that was planned for in Cecil County Maryland has been Cancelled. Events in California and Texas will still be held. For more information on the new event plans, see: http://www.nationaldogday.com/events.htm. MM & RY

Sadie and Lily’s Olympic Coverage: Chase the Dog and Follow the Ball

Sadie and Lily have decided to post on their favorite Olympic sports throughout the Beijing Olympic Games. We have a slightly different organization of sports in mind than the Official Categories. We suggest the following new categories: BALL, CHASE, CONTACT, WEAPONS, STICK,  THROW, and SLOW. The girls prefer the sports in the BALL and CHASE categories, but there are aspects of the others that do appeal to them as well.

Their passion is to follow the BALL sports: Beach and Indoor Volleyball, Soccer, Basket Ball, Water Polo (in Aquatics, this is their favorite), Tennis (their second favorite), Handball, and Ping Pong.

The also love the CHASE sports: Cycling (by far, the favorite chase sport), Athletics Running and Jumping events, Swimming (in Aquatics), and Equestrian.

They are not wild about the CONTACT sports, those can turn brutal quickly and that is not fun for dogs: Boxing, Judo, Taekwondo, and Wrestling. Ditto for the WEAPONS category: Fencing, Shooting, and Archery. Double Ditto for Gymnastics and the Aquatics sport of Diving. However, they love Trampoline.

They really do not like the STICK sports either, they are too easily distracted by the wooden equipment involved, and things can go badly for a dog really quickly: Hockey, Canoe/Kayak, Archery, and Badminton, Rowing, Softball and Baseball. They are not fans of Athletics THROW events either – shot put, javelin, and hammer. The Athletic events that combine these with other events are sort of a drag for Sadie and Lily too – the Decathlon comes to mind as both SLOW and THROW.

They do not have the attention spans to truly enjoy the SLOW events: Pentathlon, Triathlon, Sailing, Waitlifting.

We also have some suggestions for categories that would be more appealing to dogs:

FRISBEE (ultimate, long distance, team and multi-species)

HIKING (beach, mountain, and street)

AGILITY (if horses can be in Equestrian, why can’t dogs be in Agility? After all, Johann, the Agility Dog is the biggest star in the dog blogging athletic community)

RETRIEVE (bumper, fowl, ball, and animal prey)

They would also like to add dog events to the BALL and CHASE categories. They have been following Cairo and his friends Paw-limpics antics.

MM and RY 2008

FDS Olympic Opening Ceremony Rant; Moreover, Lily Hates it When She Hears These Sounds

Here in Faimount, Philadelphia, we joined the millions who watched the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics last night. We wondered about a few things …

1. Why weren’t the world’s leaders using their blackberries? Other than President Sarkozy of France, who seemed to be texting away, the images we saw showed folks just sort of hanging out with binoculars and flags. Don’t the world’s leaders have important communications to attend to during the hours-long ceremony? Didn’t a war break out yesterday  between Russia and the Georgia Republic? Just curious…..

2. Is there a list somewhere that identifies the countries that did not permit women to compete in the games? The tiresome NBC commentary focused on Saudi Arabia, but there seemed to be quite a few country contingencies that did not include women.

3. Related to number 2, How is it possible that there was not one woman commentator on NBS during the opening ceremony? We noticed that there were very few women athlete’s names called or featured on camera during the entrance of the athletes.

4. Why aren’t there dogs in the opening ceremonies? Our Sadie is a natural born athlete. She would have loved to fly with the torch bearer around the whole stadium. She knows how to hang onto people’s arms. Holding the torch in one arm and little Sadie in the other would have showcased his incredible strength and grace even more than was already accomplished. Wouldn’t you love to see a sight like that?

5. Final Comment: In case anyone is interested in our view on the subject, YES, dancers are athletes.

Other than keeping our rants in check, the most notable aspect of the opening ceremonies in our home is that we once again we had a chance to observe that Lily does not really love loud sounds. She retreated from the TV when the awesome drumming initiated the ceremony. And, needeless to say, the fireworks were not pleasant for her either.

Lily seems to perceive all three of the following sounds the same way:

MM & RY 2008

Placeblogger compares Fairmount Dog Stories with Miami Beast

Fairmount Dog Stories and Miami Beast, Life with Dog in Miami are featured on Placeblogger.com’s homepage to mark its 3000th listed blog. We are honored at the comparison to the stylish Miami Beast and by the Placeblogger plug.

We started writing Fairmount Dog Stories a few months ago as a venue for sharing our perspectives about the dog friendly neighborhood of Fairmount, Philadelphia – one that truly supports living what we like to call the urban dog lifestyle. Some residents of this neighborhood comment that living in Fairmount means benefiting from some of the best urban, suburban and small town qualities all in one setting.

We see Fairmount as a place that grounds techie internet culture, features closely knit intergenerational bonds, and cosmopolitan chic. And, since Philadelphia is one of the country’s most walkable cities, no more than 3000 steps in any direction places one in Center City, on the Fairmount Park walk-run-ride-roll-stroll path, on Temple University’s Main Campus, at fantastic restaurants on Avenue of the Arts, at Mugshots Coffee House or Sabrina’s Cafe.

Placeblogger is a neat blog index because it allows bloggers to connect their virtual contributions with their real world settings. It also collects blogs that feature place descriptions. For those who want or need those services, Placeblogger supports the development of localized blogging communities and disseminating place specific content from the perspectives of people on the ground. We are looking forward to getting to know and support our blogging neighbors as well as connecting with our online communities. Placeblogger is a helpful, easy to use resource for those endeavors.

MM & RY 2008