Tuesday, October 9, 2012

4 Reasons Your Dog Skyrockets Your Blood Pressure


Quick. I need an emotional ceremony to attend. It could be a wedding, baptism, retirement bash. I’m open. That’s how annoyed I am with the dog. Usually when I attend any of these ceremonies I’m kind of an emotional mess. I think of irritating things Stanley, the dog, has done in order to keep it together. Sometimes it’s hard to think of enough things. Not this week.

1.     The dog is shedding. And by shedding I mean losing vast quantities of hair. All over the place. I brushed the stairs with a dog brush this morning. Because the vacuum cleaner can’t hack it anymore. And I’ve run out of sticky lint roller sheets.

I’m going to have to buy a new vacuum. Or else I’m going to have to visit one of those vacuum repair stores that you see on the side of the road that I’m pretty sure are a front for the mob. Are there really enough people out there with vacuum problems that we can support an entire storefront? We’re about to find out because I’m hauling the Dyson in there tomorrow.  

2.    The dog has taken to pooping in the bark chips. You know how much I love bark chips. Not so much anymore.

3.    The dog chases squirrels. He does this all year long, but he gets extra mileage in fall. This makes walks with Stanley feel less like I’m starring in my own communing-with-nature, feminine hygiene ad and more like I’m starring in that stupid video game my fella plays “Gears Of War”. Only my version features hiding squirrels instead of commandos and the only weapon of destruction is a lunging black lab mix.

4.    The dog finds dead squirrels. And when he finds them, he doesn’t give them up easily. This presents a problem if you’re a girly girl like me, loathe to engage in dead squirrel tug-of-war with the dog. Luckily I don’t have to.

This brings us to our tip of the day, gleaned from a very helpful neighbor who hollered it at me as Stanley and I were squaring off over his first dead squirrel find.  

Tip of the day: If your dog ever clamps down on something and won’t open his mouth to drop it, all you have to do is pick up your dog by his rear legs. You will look like you are pushing a wheel barrow. Only it’s your dog. Lift his legs up pretty high and shake him gently. The dog won’t be able to hold his grip on the offensive item in his mouth. This tricky move jams all the circuitry in his little doggy brain. My reasoning might be off here but the results are not. Stanley has dropped the squirrel every time.

Please note: this tip was meant as a service. I am already getting weird spam comments from some Russian autobot. I don’t want to start getting them from PETA too. So animal lovers, don’t get your undies in a bundle. I’m not telling people to try this move at home when they’re, say, bored on a Sunday afternoon. This move should only be tried out of necessity. And remember, it’s more humane than a torque bow.
 
                              Stanley, after a particularly exhausting squirrel chasing session
                                                                

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