Ray’s World!

Ray’s world here is, ideally, a very stable world in the sense that nothing should ever change! Nothing! Literally nothing! Is that stressed enough?

Ray’s routines have been mentioned in a number of Posts but, thinking about them today, there are so many aspects of his routines that have surprised me.

We know from the Post yesterday that he has a pretty good sense of time, and so he knows approximately when to expect me to start moving around in the morning; what my early morning routine is, and ultimately what time he will get his breakfast.

We know from a Post some time ago now that his breakfast consists of a bowl of food, followed by some rutabaga; followed by a biscuit. Give him his food and his biscuit and he will follow you around for the rest of the day waiting for his rutabaga!

After Ray has had his breakfast, I usually make myself a piece of toast and a coffee and Ray gets a corner off my toast! If I just have a coffee, then he is confused because that is not what is supposed to happen!

Our dinners are very interesting because, if we have something that we know he really likes (i.e. green beans), then we will put a couple on the side of our plates to give him when we are finished.  From Ray’s vantage point, he can clearly see what is on our plates and, more importantly, where on the plates things are! If however we have something that is eaten from a bowl, then he is quite dejected because he can neither see (nor does he expect) any treats!

We always have our dinner immediately after Ray has had his. If Carol and I are going out however, and as we cannot leave Ray alone, we arrange for his “girl friend” (Heather) from the Humane Society to come and sit with him. We then only give Ray about half his normal dinner, and Heather gives him the other half as a distraction when we leave.

Just recently, Carol and I went out to dinner so Ray was really wondering what was happening. He had his dinner, no doubt noticing that it was less than usual, but then we did not eat! From his perspective, this was totally wrong and poor Ray seemed totally confused, and understandably so, because things were simply not happening  as they should! As soon as Heather arrived to look after him, he was elated and we left for our dinner.

Even phrases we use at certain times of the day are only expected at those times. If I say “Goodnight” to Carol at anytime other than late at night, he does not appear to know what to do. If it was late at night, he would yawn; stretch and then jump up onto the sofa and curl up next to Carol until she decides to go to bed… but in the early evening?

We are all routine driven, but Ray? He must get very frustrated with us at times!

 

 

 

 

27 thoughts on “Ray’s World!”

  1. Ha ha! Yes, my dog has to contend with toddler schedules, so he does not count on any kind of real routine, but we are staying with my parents for the holidays, and even though they were out at a movie, their dog came out at 10 pm exactly, demanded to go out, then wandered off to bed…

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  3. TinkerToy seems delighted when he can predict what is happening. Like Ray, however, he is the guardian of the routines in our house, reminding me when I have forgotten his “rutabaga” (which is actually a slice of dried sweet potato in his case). He comes to get me when he wants fresh water (he doesn’t seem to prefer it after a few dips of the fur), and even gets antsy when I’m still up past our “usual” bedtime and a bit confused on those rare times when I go to bed earlier than usual.

    How blessed we are to have them grace our lives. Merry Christmas to all you know and love, and a special Christmas wish that Ray will be well-favored by Santa on Christmas morn.
    xx,
    mgh
    (Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMore dot com)
    – ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder –
    “It takes a village to transform a world!”

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    • It is interesting that whereas routines can be rather boring, they do seem to be the “security blanket” of our lives. A break from routine may be occasionally welcomed but, in a world where our individual significance can be questioned, we do have some control over our routines. Long live routines. We are probably no different than Ray! 🙂

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      • As I get older I treasure routines and like chaos a lot less. When I was younger I loved change and the ensuing chaos. Maybe I’m getting more doglike. When we go out for dinner, depending on the time, I will give a half ration of their dinner to our cats and the other half when I get back. If we are going out closer to their dinner time I will give them the whole ration. However, Hazel, our foodie, will always check when we get back to see if there just might be a bit more to give. I could see her follow me for rutabaga if that was the “routine.”

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