The Dog Bone Story Continued

The thing about puppies, there is never a dull moment. When two hounds have decided they are friends and are attached everywhere they go, there is never a dull moment. So when Walter woke up behind my computer desk chair this morning and went running for the backyard I KNEW something was going on with Henry and Watson. What could it be now? The bones they fought over are still inside and up high, out of their reach. They have no interest in any of the bones I had before this past Monday.

They have a toad cornered and neither of them wants to share what they have found.

How do I know it's a toad without walking over that sharp rock without shoes on? I have seen the toad many times in that area when I fill the water bowl daily. I saw him when I was cleaning that air conditioners in May. I also know that they will not kill or eat the toad, they just want to chase it and play with the toad. They weren't fighting but both were growling so I called them to "come". They are hounds and hounds are stubborn and young Watson is learning all the bad habits from Henry.

This is Henry's response to "come inside" or just "Henry come" or "Henry do you want to eat breakfast" ... stubborn.

I like the smaller bowl for water because the ears of the hounds fall outside the. bowl of water instead of inside the bowl of water like the larger stainless steel bowls that have been used for years. This bowl also has a rubber ring on the bottom to keep the bowl in place but Watson showed me today that once the tile floor is wet, the bowl with the rubber ring slides like a hockey puck over ice. He likes that I don't. I caught him splashing water again by pushing the bowl over the floor with his nose as he drank water. Why?

I went back to the old routine of chairs protecting the corners of the deck and step late last night. Watson found out very early this morning that he could not get to that corner piece as easy as it use to be. So he moved to something else to get into. The Marigolds.

It is nice to have the Marigolds up high although I'd prefer the pot to be on the deck, I think it looks better down there than up there. Up there though there are a lot more blooms compared to when it was down low on the deck. Watson likes to eat anything not caring what is good or bad for him. His nose is tremendous, better than what I have seen in the past from other bloodhounds.

That is his bloodline though, all professional trackers. I see on the small Facebook group formed by the breeder's assistant for all of us that have a puppy from the same litter, that his bothers are doing very well in their tracking training.

He thought one way to get the flowers down was to eat the table ... until he found out that table is all good steel. He moved inside and started whining ... why? He smells Henry's bowl of kibble that I have sat on the kitchen counter until Henry has the urge to eat breakfast. My hounds for many years made my life simple when we woke up. 1) they would all go out to pee at the same time first thing in the morning 2) while they were outside I was inside pouring morning kibble into their dishes 3) all of them would return inside and eat all of their food side by side while I made my coffee.

Simple ... easy ... not a word had to be said. Now 1)Walter will only eat in the computer room with the door closed. That started I think last February or March, can't remember exactly. 2)Henry just won't eat anywhere until mid morning and that is only after I beg him and try sitting the bowl in different places/rooms to see what he likes. 3)Watson eats his bowl, paws at the door of the computer room to get inside to eat Walter's food if any is left (never is) and whines to get Henry's bowl sitting up high.

Like I said yesterday ... life use to be simple

A little after 9am I grabbed that cup of coffee I had not drank a drop of, heated it up, grabbed the camera and headed outside for my morning ritual of backyard clean up. Henry was already focused on the scene of the crime this morning. All over a toad?  No way, had to be something else.

Watson growled just after I mentioned his name.  LOL

That is NOT a toad my camera is zooming in on ... it is the missing dog bone from yesterday!!!

Walter was checking things out and standing by in case he needed to referee another dog fight today.

I went inside and brought out the other large knuckle bone and gave that to Watson.

I then picked up the other knuckle bone and emphasized to Henry that this was his bone. Only his. I then moved it far away from Watson to the place where Henry takes his bones.

What could go wrong with this??? Each has the same size of bone and a far distance apart. Remember when I said yesterday that nothing is simple any more?

Walter still standing by and keeping a keen eye on the situation as I walk around cleaning up the yard.

Still good after I clean up the yard and water the plants plus the one patch of new grass seed where the light pole was a few weeks ago. Heat index is hitting 107° today with a high of 97°. I was feeling pretty confident when I saw they had not moved while I walked around the yard. Could it finally be a quiet day here on the ranch?

Watson is happy.

Henry is happy.

Walter is happy.

Then ... damn!!!! I see "that look" that Henry always has when he focusses in on something else that is not his but he wants it. Sure enough by the time I could click the camera again he had ran to Watson, stole his bone and ran back to sit it next to his. He did all of this in the time it took me to sit my camera down and walk out into the yard towards Watson to prevent any fighting.

Both large bones sitting next to each other. Watson must have remembered yesterday because he did not make a move toward Henry BUT Henry made a move toward him just to remind him to stay away. I was almost trotting to them.

I separated the bones again only I did not know that Henry was following me over to Watson so as soon as I grabbed the camera for this photo ... Henry was stealing the bone again.

I thought this would be high enough while the hounds looked for their bones, sniffing the areas where they were last seen.

After Henry pulled one of the bones off the chair ... I went out in the yard to take it from him and all three bones are now sunbathing on top of the pellet box that is on the side of the grill. It was already up to 84°, sticky humid so we came back inside debating our next move while I finished this post.

Should be a good day here in "the tropics" of southern Indiana.