The Dog Whisperer

I have seen bits and pieces of that television show called The Dog Whisperer and I can't quite compete on that level but I believe I do a pretty good job with Molly. I am, by nature, a high strung, energetic person and I believe Molly feeds off that. I get really nervous when other dogs come around and Molly feeds off that. Yesterday she went to the screen at our balcony and started woofing and growling at other dogs. I decided I would try a different approach with Molly and I went up to her and just started talking to her in a real soothing voice. I told her, "Those are just little doggies out for a walk with their owners and you don't need to get them all riled up by getting into a woofing contest with them." Then I would call her over to me and that seemed to work pretty well. I would give her a belly rub and some ear scratchies and she seemed content to let them on their way.

A Friendly Face

Dogs have memories and usually pretty long ones whether it be a smell or a sight. My ex-wife came to visit us today and Molly recognized her as soon as she pulled up in the parking lot. Molly happened to be sitting at the balcony door and my ex saw her and started talking to heer. Molly immediately started whining and ran to the door. I always shut Molly up in my bedroom until my guests can get in the door and get seated. This time Molly rushed out the door not to lay the law down but to greet my guest with tail wags and doggie kisses. It is kind of nice to see Molly actually happy to see someone for a change. Molly offered up her backside for patting and her belly for rubs and all was good.

My "Loyal" Readers

Molly's World reached over 5000 views the other day and I can remember when I made a bid deal out of reaching over 1000 views. Evidently I only have about five loyal readers although a real close friend of mine was playing around on the internet the other day and he found my Molly's World blog. I will be mnore than glad to admit that I am still feeling my way around in the dark with this blog thing. Some of my entries are pretty good and occasionally funny and a vast number of them I should not have wasted my time on. This isn't the world of a comic strip where I have to be funny everyday or even have to post an entry everyday but it would be kind of nice. Very few entries I have really put out there for the public to read and that is mainly because Molly and I are pretty shy, reclusive people. I have always said if I won a ton of money in the lottery that I would buy a mountain somewhere, put a house at the top of it, and only come off it every month or two just for the hell of it.

Dogs Have Psychic Abilities

Dogs have a greater consciousness than human beings give them credit for. They know when we are physically hurting, emotionally distressed, and they can sense any tension we might have so Molly might just be the most stressed out dog on the planet. I can look over at her sometimes and she will be staring at me intently like she knows something is going on in my head or there is an ache somewhere in my body. Whenever I get this pensive she is always right by my side, there to absorb any tension eminating from me by offering her belly for a rub or her back for a scratch. She is always there for me.

Unconditional Love

Dogs are unconditional love wrapped in a furry bundle. I was in an awful mood when I woke up this morning (mainly because I am having a hard time sleeping) and unfortunately Molly caught the brunt of my frustration. She knew something was wrong with me and she just wanted me to be close to me and I just needed some space. I felt horrible all day long about it because I realized I was very unfair to Molly and she just wanted to give me the love she knew I needed at that moment. I returned the love when I got home this afternoon and all is well. The next time I feel that frustration I need to take a step back and realize who is always there for me.

A Beautiful Mind

Last night I was banging away on my computer and and I look over and watch Molly jump up on the bed and proceed to turn down the covers just like a human would. She peels back the sheet and the blanket, picks out which pillows she wants, arranges them in a particular way that suits her, throws the rest of the pillows off the bed, and lays down like a human, and is asleep in about 2 minutes. It is fascinating to watch. I would love to know what goes through her mind when she does this because she does all of this for a reason and uses a methodology that requires a thought process. She really does have a beautiful mind.

The Clock Is Ticking

My first day on my new schedule and Molly did not handle it so well. She woke me up at 3:30 AM, her usual time to go out, even though her new time needs to be 5. Molly did not care. I reasoned with her, I threw pillows at her, and I even tried to bribe her with her favorite reat, Munchy Bones. Nothing worked. Therefore, my ass was outside at 3:30 watching Molly take a dump in one of the neighborhood flower beds. I should charge them for fertilizer.

Molly The Foodie

A friend of mine used the term "Foodie" yesterday. A Foodie is someone who enjoys eating and also enjoys the tastes and flavors of many different foods. The more I thought about it, Molly fits into that category. Any time I have a guest come over, Molly immediately goes to her food bowl and empties it in their presence. It is her way of letting them know that she is not sharing no matter how small the morsel. Molly also enjoys the tastes and flavors of many different foods, mainly anything I happen to be eating. This morning it happened to be Bojangle's. If I happen to leave it to close to the edge of the table, she thinks I left it there for her and she will reach up and grab it. Molly appreciates my generosity..... and carelessness.

A Rainy Day

It has pretty much been raining ever since Molly and I got up this morning and she has decided this would be a great day to stay in and nap all day long. We have ventured out a couple of times for some short walks but Molly is getting to that age where she does not want to have anything to do with water especially the kind that is falling out of the sky. She really doesn't even like walking on wet grass any more. A lot of dogs are like that but my Dad's hunting dogs loved getting in the water, especially a nice stream or a creek. Pops used to have this one Cocker Spaniel named Louie that would fetch anything out of the river. You could throw it out on the rolling river and he would jump in and bring it back. I can't even get Molly to get into the bathtub.

Feet Up

I was laying on the bed reading the other night and Molly starts going into her "I want a belly rub" routine and I could help but laugh. She rolls over on her back and starts wiggling her feet and letting out this little growl. From my angle on the bed, all I could see was her paws dancing around and I could hear her doing her growl. Of course, that kind of effort and creativity deserved a belly rub. She may not be as young as she used to be but she still knows how to entertain a room.

The French Fry Eating Squirrel

I went to Lake Julian near my apartment the other day to enjoy the sunshine and to take some time out to reduce some of the stress that is prevalent in my life here lately. I took my journal and a Wendy's #1 meal with me to help me out some. I picked me out a picnic table in the middle of nowhere, nice and quiet, with a good view. I was soaking in some sun, enjoying watching a rowing team from the local high school practicing their skills on the lake, and popped open my Wendy's bag. A squirrel materialized out of thin air. He got to within about five feet of me and sat back on his little, furry haunches and tucked his little paws perfectly against his chest. His motive was pretty clear. He wanted food. I did not realize that squirrels even ate french fries but it was all I had to offer the little guy. I tossed one to him and he picked it up with his lttle paws, held it vertically to his mouth, and preceded to chow down on it. I ended up tossing him several more so now he has a worse cholesterol problem than I do. When the ducks showed up, I had nothing left to offer them which is probably a good thing because the chances of me getting mauled were pretty good.

The Neighbors Dogs

When I came home from doing laundry yesterday morning, a couple of my neighbors were standing in front of my apartment building like neighbors do and they had their dogs with them. Molly (the other one) and Emma, two of my Molly's not-so-favorite dogs, and one other new one. I went up to Molly and Emma's owner and told her that I would wait until she got done before I brought my Molly out because I did not want another brawl on the staircase. We laughed about it and dog owners always have a kinship with each other. Me and the girl started exchanging stories about our Molly's orneryness and we had quite a few laughs about it. Dog owners can always share stories about their dogs and I could talk all day about Molly. I talked for a few minutes to the other dog owner standing there and hers was a real timid rescue dog that she had only had about three or four days and I tried making friends with it and it shyly licked my hand when I held it out. I have a soft spot in my heart for rescue dogs (Molly was one) and I believe the poor little dog will be walking around here with an attitude in about a week.

The Canine Jaws

I remember a soon from the movie Jaws in which the Great White Shark starts bumping the bottom of the boat and he hits it harder and harder until he starts breaking through the bottom of it. That is the way Molly has decided she is going to start waking me up now. She starts slamming her body into the end of the bed. When she first did it about a week ago, it really brought me out of a deep sleep and I did not know what was going on. She has done it just about every night since. Last night she got a little bit too close to the bed and I swatted her with a pillow. Take that!

I'll Just Move My Bed

This morning I was getting ready to run a few errands and before I go anywhere, I always shut Molly up in my bedroom. This morning, Molly thought she would outsmart me. I rounded the corner to go down the hallway and I noticed she had moved her pet bed that she sleeps in in front of the door to where I couldn't close it. I could not help but laugh. Who says dogs can't use reason and logic to solve problems?

When The Spotlight Is On

Molly used to be very shy when it came to her bathroom functions but not any more. She used to have to go behind a bush or behind a tree or something. She seems to do her best work at night when a car is driving by with its headlights on us for the world, and the passengers of the car, to see. Late one night, it was about 2:30 in the morning, she decides to go in the flower bed in the parking lot, and of course a car drives by. Early one morning she dropped a load in the parking lot, the first time she has ever pulled that off. Her pooper scooper didn't work too well on that. Last night, we got "spotlighted" again and she didn't even flinch. The business has to be done and once she squats, she is not stopping.

Tough Times

Molly and I are facing some tough times ahead but we will face them as we always have- together. I stand an excellent chance of becoming unemployed for the first time in my life and money is going to be so tight, I don't know if I am going to be able to afford dog treats. What the hell, Molly and I could both stand to lose some weight anyway. Asheville has become a city with a large homeless population. I see them in Wal-Mart, I see them outside of Wal-Mart, and people want to treat them like homelessness is a disease, an affliction like leprosy. I see people sitting outside the store with dogs and I feel baddest of all for them. These dogs are loved, they just do not have a couch to lounge on or a special blanket they lay on or anything. Molly and I might be in that group soon enough.

The Medieval Dog

The Medieval Dog was primarily used for hunting game although certain dogs, such as the mastiff, were allowed in the castle to double as guard dogs. There were varying breeds, many similar to the breeds that we have today. The hunting dogs, according to Wikipedia, lived in their kennel in the castle and had their own attendant to take care of them. The needs of the dog were addressed promptly and maybe this is where Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker got the idea for an air conditioned dog house.

Holistic Healing For Dogs

Molly has acquired a bad case of fleas from the flea bags in the neighborhood and with all of the wet weather we have had, Molly and I are miserable, especially Molly. I really can't afford the high dollar stuff they offer at the Vet's office so I decided to look online to see what they had to offer. I found a formula that called for cedar wood oil, lavender oil, and mixed with water. I know cedar chips can be used in dog houses to keep away the fleas because of the smell and the formula said it would take daily treatments of two or three times a day for a couple of weeks for it to be effective but I am willing to try anything. I also did a broader search for holistic healing for dogs and what I found was quite fascinating. Their is a website called The Happy Dog Spot that was a wealth of information on viewing the dogs complete health- physical, mental, and physiological- as a means of healing. I think Molly and I might be on to something.

Reincarnation

If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I would like to believe that in mine and Molly's previous life, we lived in medieval times with me being a knight of my castle and Molly being the guard dog. I don't know anything about medieval dogs and if they were even a constant presence in the castle. I could definitely see Molly being a hunting dog with that impressive nose of hers. If someone comes to visit my apartment now and I leave the room, Molly dares the person visiting to leave the room. She does a great job of protecting this house.

It's Alive

Everytime I throw a porkchop or a steak on the stove, Molly will come out of the deepest of sleeps and suddenly appear by my side. Everytime Molly does this I get images of the old black-and-white Frankenstein movie where Dr. Frankenstein has just brought his creature to life and he hysterically screams, "It's alive!" Of course Molly makes sure she makes herself available for handouts and leftovers.