My routine

Sorry for the delay since I last wrote, my people got a new computer recently and it’s been hard for me to sneak upstairs to learn how to use it.  This one is an iMac and I’ve been learning how it works while they’re at work. I think the keyboard will be OK for my paws. Here goes.

Since Julie got back, life settled into a nice pattern for me. I wake up around 5:15 am and greet the morning with a little awwuuuww chatter which I think also helps to get my human’s attention. I’ve started adding a little woof if they don’t seem to hear me, when I think they should have been down already once I’m awake. 

My alpha male Graham has a different morning routine than my female.  He comes out and we walk around the grass to make sure my feet are clean in case I’ve stepped in any overnight accidents and have a pee. Then he leaves me to entertain myself while he cleans washes out my pen. Normally I try to help him with the hose. Then he invites me into the house if I sit; and we make my breakfast. We head back outside, I sit while he puts my bowl down and I watch him until he tells me it’s OK to eat. Then he leaves me to my breakfast while he does human stuff inside. Later we have a play or walk the yard, and Julie has a play or walk with me again when she comes down.

When it’s my female’s morning, she turns the light on outside so I know she’s coming, and I jump up against the pen in joyous abandon.  She always tells me to settle, before she opens the gate, and I leap out and wriggle and ooouuu talk to her to tell her how happy I am to see her. She gives me a big body rub and scratch and we go for a walk and a pee.  She makes me breakfast right away but she also follows the sit and invitation routine. I eat it while she cleans my pen and washes it out.  Then we have a stroll down to the bottom of the yard, and play fetch for a while, and she heads in to do her human thing.

New Adventures:  After they’re settled and chores are done for the morning they get my lead, put my collar on me and we go for a walk. I prance along with my head high, but I do like to nibble on the end of the lead. Graham tells me this is not a good thing, so I’m trying to resist it. Sometimes we go up a long dirt road, and when it turns onto a side road, they ask me to sit and slip my collar off and I get to run up and down the road and have fun. 

You wouldn’t believe how many new things there are to sniff and taste when we go down this road. I love the tasty little pellets they call wallaby poop, but they tell me to spit them out. I had a bonanza the other day; I was trotting along just behind them, when I found this really wonderful stuff. Big giant piles of it were right there on the road. I couldn’t believe my luck, who leaves this kind of treasure lying around?  I sniffed it and had just taken a whopping big mouthful when they turned to check on me.  Julie covered her mouth with both hands and her shoulders were shaking, as she tried to stifle a laugh. Graham had on his really stern face and with his “no kidding voice” was telling me “NO” and to put it down. Are you kidding me? This stuff is ambrosia!! I tried to look innocent, like I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I couldn’t hide the big patty of horse poop when its edges were hanging out both sides of my mouth.  I really didn’t think they’d notice it, and gave them my best – “what – who me?” look, and tried to swallow it quickly, but it was too huge and they weren’t fooled.

Sometimes we walk to the local cricket field and take the outside path around it, across a big field and across the bridge to the marina. Last week I had just started ambling along the path when Graham shouted SNAKE and grabbed me. We all stopped and watched a big fat tiger snake slither off the path. They were quite insistent I not follow it, and we carried on.  I love this walk as it has such a variety in it.  There’s the big field I can run around in, and when we walk down the path these little floating creatures flutter just over my head, and jump up and around trying to catch them.  I love both walks.

They’ve taught me to climb the stairs and let me join them up on the balcony for a little visit now. I can hang out up there looking over the lower railing, and see my whole yard. Julie brings a little bowl of ice cubes for me and I get to nibble on them while I’m up there. 

During the day we normally just hang out, I like to sleep a lot as I’m still little (although I’m 4 and ½ months old now) and enjoy hearing them rustling around the house while I doze. Sometimes I get to sleep inside on my mat while Julie reads or Graham paints.

Now and again they go out for a few hours, and leave me in my pen with a yummy bone, and chew toy. I’m always excited to see them when they come home. They say they’re getting me ready for when they’re at work. Not sure what that means, but if it means I get a bone….Yummm.

Dinner time rolls around and for me it’s the same routine as the morning. Then they let me play outside while they eat. After that, there’s time for another walk then we hang out until bed time.

I’ve found some wonderful yummy things in our very own yard. A fuschia tree was dropping fruit and I ate a heap of it before they figured out what I was doing. Then I found the apricot tree was dropping fruit before they did. I like to snatch the fallen fruit, and eat the sweet flesh. I nibble around the hard bit in the middle and leave it behind. I sure love fruit.


THIS THING CALLED WORK!! 

Just when I thought this was the routine, they both went away FOR THE WHOLE DAY. That was lonely! Even though they left me with a big fresh bone, my toys and the radio for company, it was a very LOONG day. I was hugely excited to see them when they finally got home and bounced around like crazy to show them. They took me for a huge walk to make up for being away all day.

So, now I know what going to work means. I don’t really like it as much as when they’re around.  Graham only does it 3 times then he’s home 4 times, but Julie goes away for the day more often. I like it best when they’re both here.

Bath time is every week or so, when I start to smell "doggy"  I've grown so much, I don't think I'll fit in the tub for much longer.

Well, I’d better get off now before they come home and find me on the computer. Woof Woof.  Elwood.