Bloodhound Diary Day 13 – Ugh! I am starting to feel like I am going a little crazy. More rain today. It just keeps falling and falling forever and ever. Where does it all come from? Why does it fall? Who fills the sky back up after?

Playing in the house and watching movies with daddy is fun, but not every day in a row. I want to runnnnnn and bite at the grass. Chase pine cones and hunt sneaky squirrels.

We don’t have any grass or pine cones in the house, and no squirrels to hunt in the house. Oh if only we had squirrels to hunt in the house. Lots of squirrels sneaking from room to room, doing squirrel things. That would be big fun!

Sitting, looking out the window I watched the rain falling. Thunder shaking the house every little while. There is so much sniffing and running and sniffing some more to be done. I am missing it all. If only we could go play outside.

Maybe tomorrow the rain will be gone and we will be freeeeeee to run and play in the big grass. Maybe . . . if the sky runs out of water. Stupid rain.

Instead of watching a movie this morning after breakfast, daddy thought we should spend some time doing ‘good dog’ things. That made me happy. I love doing good dog things. I get to eat tasty things every time I am a good dog. Eating is my most favoritest thing of everything I do.

I could smell the tasty things daddy put in his pocket.

The smells made my mouth water. I jumped once then twice and pawed at his feet. Sniffing at his pocket, trying to look like I was hungry. Daddy looked at me and asked ‘whats the matter boy?’. I turned in a circle then another, whining in a small voice.

He just kept looking at me.

Confusion came over me. This usually works on daddy. This is when he gives in and hands me a yummy telling me what a good dog I am. Ok, time to think. I stepped back and bounced at his feet letting out a yip and a bark. I wagged my tail as fast as I could whining in a smaller voice this time.

Daddy looked at me with a face of stone. He was immune.

We stood there looking at each other for what seemed longer than the rain was falling. I finally decided I would not get a yummy tasty this way. I would have to do a good dog thing. Then the tasties would be mine.

I sat down looking at him, waiting. Then waiting some more. And it happened . . . Good Boy! Daddy said it and reached in his pocket. Oh yes, oh yessss I can hardly wait. I stood up and sniffed long and deep, the smell of the tasty was more than I could stand.

He offered a treat to me. I was gentle when I took it from from daddy’s hand. I learned early on that he doesn’t like it when I bite-and-jerk it from him. So I am always careful not to touch his fingers with my teeth.

I chewed slowly, tasting every taste there was in the meaty treat. Feeling it break smaller and smaller between my teeth. I wagged my tail looking at my daddy. Happiness. Oh yes, I am a good dog. I am a very good dog.

Now I just need to remember what I did so I can be a good dog again.

I gave my daddy all my attention and we started working on good dog things. It was only after we were finished, and I was laying on the couch thinking about our time together that it hit me. The very first yummy was for watching daddy. Watching him and waiting, nothing else. Too easy.

Some of the other good dog things were a little harder. Daddy is still working on his dog talk and I am still working on my human talk. But we are both getting better at saying what we want.

The way humans talk to dogs and the way dogs talk to humans is similar in many ways. Each only needs to pay attention when talking to the other to really learn what is being said.

At times, things he tells me or things I tell him are not said with our voices. Some things are simple body language. When something is said with our voices, it is often the tone of how it is said. Not what is said. Understanding this will reward me with many more tasty chewies.

Lucky for me I am leaning more of these secret human-dog talk things every day. I can’t wait for our next good dog learning time. Maybe it will be tomorrow. If it is, all the tasty yummies will be mine.

Oh yessssssssss, they will be mine.

If you enjoy reading about Anubis, he would be happy to hear from you.

A Note from my Mommy and Daddy:

We selected Anubis after much consideration. He is beautiful, healthy and seems to be very intelligent. We are looking forward to helping him reach his potential as a bloodhound and as a member of our family.

While Anubis is growing up, my wife and I (aka the human mommy and daddy) thought it would be interesting to chronicle his growth, learning and development as seen from ‘his’ perspective.

In addition to being entertaining, we also felt this may help others who desire to have their own bloodhound in understanding not only the development of a dog, but specific issues which may pertain to the bloodhound breed.

Bloodhounds are a wonderful breed. You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions.

Tags: Anubis the Bloodhound, Bloodbound Diaries, Bloodhound Tales, Puppy Training, The Mind of Anubis