7:30 am!

7:30 am is a critical time in Ray’s day, as it is the time that I go outside with him to let him do whatever he needs to do, after which I give him his breakfast.

As noted in a recent Post, I usually race him back to the house when he has finished outside and get great pleasure in watching him blast passed me!

Typically he will pee,  and then be looking for some indication of me getting poised to race him back. He will generally be out again perhaps 2-3 hours later to poop. However, there have been many times that he has clearly wanted to poop at 7:30am and, either because he was not quite ready or breakfast was more important, he has not. We know the signs quite well. He sometimes drags his rear across a section of grass or, more commonly, he goes crazy for a few minutes and then poops. We assume that both routines simply loosen things up a little for him.

For a few days now, and as soon as he has peed, I have taken up a “play” stance to which Ray has responded in a slightly bemused way. He leaps around and I “rough up” his back half in a controlled but playful manner. He would do this for a minute or two and then watch me for the signal to race me back to the house and get his breakfast.

This morning, we may have had a break through! After he had peed, he faced me and went into a play stance. We then proceeded to run and leap around and I managed to “rough up” his rear end a few times. This lasted for probably a good 3 -4 minutes, when he suddenly broke off the game and trotted over to a corner of the garden and promptly pooped! Once that was done, he then stood waiting for the race signal!

It will be interesting tomorrow to see if he again encourages playing; breaks off to poop, and then clearly wants his breakfast i.e. Is he consciously using play to make his bowel movements easier?

While dwelling on the whole issue of Ray’s habits and how he could well be manipulating circumstances for his own benefit, I started thinking about those dog owners who just open the back door to let their dog out, and then wait for it to return. No doubt very time effective, and certainly convenient, but they are missing out on so much.

With the routine with Ray, I not only get the pleasure of seeing him very happy to be outside in the early morning; I get to now actively play with him;  I get to see him power his way passed me as he heads for the back door; I get to know exactly what he has done which takes some of the guesswork out of the rest of the day and (really important), I know exactly where he pooped! It makes so much sense to throw some appropriate clothes on and go outside with him!

Of course I am very lucky to have neighbors who are preoccupied at 7:30am so they don’t see me leaping around with Ray! I suspect that they may not understand my behavior!

14 thoughts on “7:30 am!”

  2. Liezel will not go outside without one of us going with her. If we’re not right behind her she turns back on the deck to see what we’re doing, if we’re coming, waits to insure we’re coming out and then will proceed into the yard. It can be a little frustrating when when scratches to go out only to find she just wants to play – bathroom unnecessary.
    You make a very good point, some of the best things happen when I’m outside with her. Whether it be goofy or guarding, playful or aloof, she is a lot of fun to be with.

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    • It really is a bit of a “balancing act”. We try to be receptive to Ray’s needs, while not allowing him to control the situation. However, when he is frantically hitting the bell on the back door at 4:30am (this morning), then he has to be let out. We just haven’t identified his problem though. The only thing we know that scares him is the low battery warning beep on a smoke detector, but that is not happening at the moment!

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  3. Oh Hug and Kiss Your Doggie for me. You are so sweet to take care of your pet like your own child.
    I don’t have any dogs of mine, since our flat is somewhat small(India), but I take care of 2 stray dogs in the society, who I feed every morning, hot piping chicken soup with bones and rice or bread. And these dogs follow me like kids behind their mother, whenever they see me.

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    • Hi Cattie: That is nice that you are feeding those dogs, but be aware that hot food is not natural for them. Luke warm or cold would be better. Given that they are obviously very hungry, they will eat anything you give them… which is not necessarily good for them. Cooked chicken bones = NO! NO! NO! The thought is wonderful, but cooked chicken bones are brittle and splinter very easily. Dogs can severely hurt themselves if a bone splinter gets stuck… which is likely to be fatal. Raw chicken bones are generally considered fine for dogs, although we never give Ray bones as he tends to gulp rather than chew! Just remember that they are dogs that you are looking after, and not “little people”, so what appeals to you may not be good for the dogs.

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  5. At this point, I expect your neighbors are very used to seeing you do odd things with Ray. I can almost hear one neighbor while brushing her teeth say, “There is that crazy Colin leaping around with the dog. I wonder if it loosens his bowel movements.” 🙂

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  6. We don’t have a yard, so Mom never misses out on ANYTHING when I am outside. Even if we had a yard, she would be out there watching me like a hawk. I eat inappropriate things when I am not supervised. Your instincts are right, though – playing does help the poop get out. So does walking for a few minutes.

    Love and licks,
    Cupcake

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