School is in.

"You two have an amazing ability to sleep all afternoon." 

Mandy to Tim and me. 

It has been another great day of sunshine, walks, breakfast, playing with dogs, getting pats, giving licks, lying in the sun, daydreaming, watching the world go by and snoozing on the sofa. When Mandy said that to us I had a great idea. With this amazing ability, we could open a school. "The Ruby School of Relaxation." I think we will have students come here as well as courses by correspondence. I think places will fill up fast so if you are interested you had better let me know quickly. 

Life is great when you are having a nap. 

You Can't Fool Me

"My father would take Rusty's head in his hands and talk with him with real interest- 'So, old mate, what do you think of the snooty new labrador across the street?'- as if he actually expected a reply. It seemed a bit odd at first, probably because I'd never seen anyone else talk to a dog, only at them.

Rusty couldn't get enough of it. He would gaze into Dad's eyes and make odd little groaning noises I'd never heard before. Yet when I tried it, Rusty just looked bored. It was years later before I understood what Dad meant about animals only reacting to 'true voices': if our inflections don't match our feelings, they ignore us."

Lucky for Me Frank Robson

You can't hide your feelings from a dog. I find it interesting that dogs do many jobs from guiding blind people to pulling sleds. Also in the police we do many jobs such as finding drugs and physically apprehending villians. So why don't the police use dogs for lie detection. We have been watching the TV program "Lie to me" and I reckon I could do that job (they pick up on facial expressions to spot someone lying). If anyone from the police force is reading this, consider it a job application. 

Life is great when you know if someone is fair dinkum.

My Pink Ball

I haven't posted for nearly a week, a record long time. This is because I have been very busy. One activity that has kept me occupied is staring into the middle distance, otherwise known as daydreaming. I have seen humans do this a bit; Tim is fairly good at it. However, most humans are not good at it. I have heard it is because older humans strongly discourage younger humans from doing it. They go to a special place specifically designed to stop them from this very worthwhile pursuit. That place they call "school." The benefits of daydreaming are too many to list here but to get you started; creativity, entertainment, relaxation, improved intelligence and a greater sense of Dog. 

Something else that gets my attention is my pink ball. I love tearing after it and catching it on the bounce. It is great to chase it on my own but much more fun with other dogs. My pink ball is the pride of the dog park. This is the ball that all the dogs want above any other. I love the competition of trying to get it before the other dogs. I am faster than all the other dogs in the park (just stating the facts) so I often do. However, the person throwing it usually throws it to the advantage of other dogs to keep it even and interesting. I don't mind if I get the ball or not, I just love running fast and going after the ball. I think competition is about putting in your best effort. This makes competition rewarding. It is when dogs or people put the importance on winning that competition becomes a negative influence. In summary, competition is good; attaching significance on winning is bad. Little humans intuitively know this but once again big humans sometimes come in and mess things up. 

Life is great when you have other dogs to chase a ball with.

What Would you Have Done?

I don't read or watch the news too much because it is usually depressing and from this state one can't make the world a better place. However, this story caught my eye. A bus driver was taking bus full of commuters home after a day at work. She stopped the bus because there was a frog on the road and she didn't want to run the poor fellow over. So she got out, put the frog to the side of the road and then carried on. Some of the passengers weren't happy and complained to the bus company, which sacked the driver. The media picked up the story, there was a public outcry and the driver was given back her job. She did have to promise not to do it again. I am not here to tell you what to think. I will simply report and let you draw your own moral from this story.

Life is great when you take the time to save a life.

Lost and Found

We have been bleesed with two more sensational days. "Beautiful one day, perfect the next." That's what they rightly say about Queensland. (Admittedly, "they" is the Queensland Tourism Board, but it is still true.) We were on a pack walk on the perfect yesterday when Mandy found a silver earring. She looked for somewhere to put it so that the owner might find it, but it didn't look likely. So I said, "You could put up a sign on the fence." Well, I would have but I'm a dog so I can't talk. Instead, I sent out the thought. Tim picked it up and said as if it was his idea. (I'm OK with it. I've got used to it.) Mandy declared him a genius and, being a woman of action, went home and did it right away. The next day the earring was gone and written in black at the bottom of the paper it says, "Thank you so much. I have been looking everywhere for this." A very satisfying result!

Life is great is when you do a good deed and receive gratitude. 

What a Day!

I went for a shorter walk with Tim this morning down to the soccer fields. What a magnificent day it was. Tim didn't take a camera so I will have to paint you a word picture. There is a small creek on one side. Several soccer fields in a row make a great, big expanse of green. It is bordered by trees. After the rainy Easter, we have perfect autumnal weather. Clear blue sky with a sun that warmed your bones but wasn't too hot. The high today was 28 degrees celsius. There was a gentle, fresh breeze. Tim had the throwing stick, which sends the ball flying three quarters of the length of one field. In short, it was a bloody marvelous walk. Fresh air, plenty of grass, sunshine and a ball to chase. Then this afternoon I went on a bigger walk with Mandy. 

Life is great when it is a stunning day.

Dog Overboard

A rainy, rainy Easter. There is no agility training today, not because it is raining but because the field is too sodden. Anyway, it is better to stay safe and dry unlike Sophie. This hound fell overboard in choppy water in North Queensland, swam 5 kilometres and then survived 4 months on a deserted island!!!!!!!!!!! Much better to remain safe and sound in bed until the good weather returns I reckon. 

Life is great when you warm and dry.