It snowed. Yes, it really did for like a day. Then we broke a record for heat. Then it got cold again. Welcome to life in Maryland. We have crazy seasons, but this year has been the craziest. Hottest February on record they say. We are catching every ray of sun we can because you never know when it will start hailing. In Maryland, we can pretty much experience all 4 seasons in one day. Grab that sun when you can!
How has your winter been? I know some of you are snowed under. Stay warm. Spring is coming.
Mom said that the kids are coming over for lunch today (to Mom they will always be kids, but to us, they are big humans). We are waiting by the open door on the steps to greet them. Mini, the other dog, likes to wait with us too. If you look all the way at the top of the stairs you will also she Noel. She is too scared to come down.
Sometimes Noel will wait at the door, but the slightest movement outside tends to scare her so she doesn’t stay long. We on the other hand, love the steps and can wait, not so patiently, for at least 5 minutes before going to do something else.
You smell interesting. What did you have for dinner? Can I have some? Let me sniff some more. This is my Mom and I really don’t feel like sharing her lap with you. But maybe. You do smell good.
Just a normal afternoon of preening and rolling. These two have become best friends and you find them together a great deal of the time. Mini Cooper has always been the other dog anyway. She is the only cat we have ever had that meets everyone at the door and runs with the dogs (instead of running away from them). It is awesome when life at the zoo just happens uneventfully.
Hope your Wednesday is wonderful too. What’s your normal?
I noticed that as the security guards we hire get smaller in size, they have a lot more yard to cover. They appear to get further and further from the big tree so that they can see what is happening. It looks to me like Charles and Jolie have worked out their parameter strategies. I must say that Jolie is very fast whenever a squirrel touches down.
I don’t know who I am more afraid of, the 2 ankle biters or the big 100 lb ball of fluff. Squash never barked unless he really meant it (and what a bark it was) vs the littles who never stop yapping.
Do you have a snuffle? They are mats that are perfect for hiding treats in so we have to work at finding them.
Jolie is absolutely obsessed with nose work; Charles, not so much.
Snuffling is a brain game. This is like dog scent hide-and-seek. Since dogs have millions (or more) scent receptors than we do, this is a great way to activate that part of their brain. According to The Dog People at Rover.com, the scent-processing part of a dog’s brain is about 40 times larger than in humans, making it about 1/8th of a dog’s total brain space.
Snuffle mats have a lot of benefits:
Slow down a fast eater
Encourage reluctant eaters
Help anxious or bored dogs burn energy and distract them
Help with cognitive decline/dementia
Do you want to learn more about using a snuffle mat? Check out this info from RUFFLE SNUFFLE, they say they are the original.
