Those Rotti Eyes!

I had a very specific idea for today’s Post but, as often happens around here, Ray caused a change of plan!

Our day was a relatively routine affair, except that we had all been out for a long walk in some very hot and humid conditions. When we eventually got back home, we were all pretty tired and therefore chilled out during the afternoon. When my thoughts turned to dinner, I could not envisage BBQ’ing in these conditions, and we certainly did not want to be generating any  unnecessary heat within the house so… what to do? We decided that, as we had a few slices of pizza in the fridge, we would just finish those up and, 30 seconds later (microwave), warm pizza slices were ready!

From Ray’s perspective, everything would have been pretty normal until we had our pizza slices. He knows the dinner routine! He gets his dinner, followed by his meds. After that, Carol and I put our dinner on trays and take them into the living room where we eat “off our laps” and catch up on the world’s news. Because we were just finishing off pizza slices, there seemed little purpose to be served by using trays so, on this occasion, we just had the pizza on plates.

Ray was clearly puzzled by the fact that we did not have trays on our laps and, instead of jumping up onto a chair (or going to his bed) and watching us, he decided to sit right in front of me and watch! He would typically go away and wait because when I finish and head for the kitchen, he gets a pumpkin biscuit (ref. yesterday’s Post). This time, things were obviously different to him!

He sat and watched me eat my two slices and, to understand the impact of that, you have to visualize a Ray sitting up very straight. He is quite big and in that position, his head is much higher than the plate on my lap… and he just stared at me! A Rotti unblinking stare!

It was not long before a front paw was firmly planted on my right leg. Within a couple of minutes, both front paws were on my right leg! These moves were, however, overshadowed by the Rotti unblinking stare!

I did save a small piece of crust for him, which he devoured, but then it was awkward for me to get up because of his position directly in front of me. While I was trying to figure out how best to handle the situation, Ray decided to climb up and on to my lap where his goal appeared to be to lick my plate. I quickly moved it to one side with the intent of putting it on the floor and out of his immediate reach however, he moved across my lap apparently trying to catch up with the plate. He eventually concluded that it was a futile quest, but then he suddenly turned and was looking directly at me.  I had almost 80lbs of dog on my lap and staring at me. Our faces were probably 12 to 15 inches apart and it was then that he suddenly reached towards me and licked my nose!

After that, he turned around and went after Carol’s plate! He soon decided to go back onto the floor as we were clearly finished… and as he now wanted his pumpkin biscuit!

It was interesting that Ray must see our habits and routines  in such precise detail that any deviation changes all the rules. He has never attempted to climb up onto the sofa while we were having our dinner off trays, but this time there were no trays = whole new routine perhaps?

20 thoughts on “Those Rotti Eyes!”

      • I used to have a Rottweiler/Border Collie mix. When I would come home at night, fix myself a quick dinner after working 12+ hours, as soon as I put my dinner on the table, he would run to the door and start barking furiously. When I went to the door, nobody was there, but when I returned for my dinner, it was gone! Now, just to prove that he was smarter than me, it took several nights of this routine before I finally wised up to his tricks! 😀 My only excuse was that I was working long hours and was tired 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        • You had a tricky one there! Ray will often try and manipulate additional treats. Example – I usually give him his breakfast which ends up with a tartar control biscuit. One morning Carol might give him his breakfast complete with tartar control biscuit but, when I appear, he goes into his den which is where he gets his tartar control biscuit! He is not averse to playing us both in the hope of duplicating meals!

          Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Laura: The first day (literally) that I met him, he lunged and barked at me from his Humane Society pen/enclosure/cage. We moved on down the “adoption row” and took another dog out for a walk! The full story including how he ended up adopting me, is in his book! The book title “Who Said I was up for Adoption” can be read from either Ray’s or my perspective! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Well Cupcake, my conversation with myself went like this.
      “Do I have any pizza now? No.”
      “Am I likely to get any pizza if I try? Maybe.”
      “What’s the worst case scenario? I won’t get any pizza.”
      “And if I do nothing? I won’t get any pizza.”
      “So I have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Let’s go for it!”
      Got to be a life lesson in there somewhere! Woof! Ray.

      Like

        • I have absolutely no doubt that those thoughts were going through his mind! Just like if I have 1 piece of toast rather than the usual two……. or if I have no toast! If I leave by the front door, rather than the back door! He knows that when I come up from the basement around 7:15 – 7:30am, he goes outside, and then gets his breakfast. If I come up at 6:00 – 6:30am, he ignores me completely!

          Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.