Bloodhound Diary Day 18 – We woke to a beautiful day! It was sunny but dry, with an occasional gust of wind bringing in more cool dry weather.

September was closing in on us, I can smell it on the wind. It is a sweet smell. With the heat gone we will have more outside time. Yaayyy!

Daddy and I headed out for our walk this morning, enjoying the breeze. It was beautiful.

Taking advantage of our good luck, we took an extra long walk. Sniffing along the way I smelled all the familiar scents. Here was an ant hill, they smelled a bitter and dry. Hmmmmm fire ants. There was a place where a cat had laid down in the tall grass, probably hunting field mice. Run mice run.

Hey! Could that be a . . . go go gooooo!

Daddy didn’t rush us. We strolled and sniffed for a very long time. Occasionally I would stumble onto the scent of a squirrel and I would burst away from daddy, hoping to finally get a look at one, only to slide to a stop at the base of a big tree and . . . missed again! No matter how fast I ran it seemed the squirrels were always a step ahead of me.

Ok sneaky fast squirrel. Just you wait. My legs are growing longer every day. Longer is faster and faster means I will catch you yet. Wait and see, oh yes, wait in see little sneakies. Stupid squirrels.

No no them again, anything but them.

When we got home daddy decided to pull a little sneaky of his own. We went through our front gate and I heard daddy say the familiar ‘get to the house boy’. That’s all I needed to hear, I was off like a flash. When I reached the porch stairs I leaped and bounded to the top. Grinning, I turned and looked at daddy.

Daddy smiled and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. I cocked my head in curiosity. Usually we go in the house and I get a nummy-num about now. Maybe daddy is stuck. Going to the top of the stairs I let out a bark, then turned and trotted back to the door. Waiting. He didn’t move.

Was daddy broken? Did he fall asleep? His eyes were open, so sleep was not the problem. I barked again, looking back at the door. More waiting. I really wanted my tasty nummy. What could be wrong?

Finally daddy called me back to the top of the stairs. He coaxed me closer, then put his hand on the top step and said ‘come on boy, you can do it’. Ugh! So that’s what this is all about. He is going to make me fall down the stairs before I get my nummy. So unfair.

I whined at him and lowered my head. I tried to look as helpless as possible. If he felt sorry for me maybe he will let me go inside. ‘Come on boy’ he said again, tapping the stair with his fingers. Then he did something evil, very evil. Bad evil daddy.

He placed my nummy on the stair and called to me again. Oh the smell of it! It was there, right there out of reach! Bad daddy. My tummy growled, so hungry. I must have the nummy.

Concentrating as hard as I could, I lowered my paw to the first step. It touched the nummy, making me want it more. I lowered my nose. No use, it was still out of reach. Carefully I lowered my second paw. If I stretch enough I just . . . might . . . reach.

Evil, evil daddy.

Daddy picked up the nummy and moved it to the second step. Somebody help me! This is NOT my daddy. This is someone else. My daddy is nice. This is an evil daddy. Time for me to show him he is not as sneaky as he thinks.

I lowered my rear paws onto the top step and moved my front paws down to the second step, touching the nummy once more. If I move quick enough, I might grab that nummy up before he can move it again.

Just as that thought was passing through my head, he moved it again. Down to the next step.

Well I can see now where this was going. Time for me to bring this nasty business to an end. Bringing forth all my strength and courage, I moved to the next step, then the next and . . . I was down! I can’t believe it. I was all the way down. All on my own I got down, imagine that.

Daddy was excited. He smiled and pet me, rubbing my fur over and over. Good Boy! he said. It was like music to my ears. This was the hardest thing I have ever done. I was so proud.

Sometimes I surprise even myself.

And then it came. The beautiful chewy tasty nummy. The world faded around me, the only thing I could see was this big beautiful nummy. It seemed to float down from the heavens landing into my mouth. Meaty, mouth-watering chewness. I was a Good Boy!

Daddy pet me again and said ‘lets go inside boy’ as he bounded up the stairs. It took a moment for me to snap out of my euphoria. Chewy, tasty soooooo good. Then I followed. The stairs will not rule me any longer. Not up, not down, not in any way at all.

When I got to the top and ran to the door I stopped looking back. Yup, you are not the boss of me. Stupid stairs. What a big dog I am.

The rest of the day was great. Daddy did daddy things and I did Anubis things. After dinner he took me outside and he taught me something called ‘fetch’. Fetch was easy. Daddy seemed impressed I learned to fetch so quickly. He hugged and praised me, telling me how good I was.

When we finished with fetch, we went inside settling down for the evening. What a great day. Daddy was proud of me. I was proud of me. I guess my daddy was not evil after all. What a relief.

I think he deserves a nummy of his own. Good Daddy!

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