Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

“Tilla”, one of our four dogs must have cut through the leash again.  He does not forget:  at least twice when he was he younger he was punished by my wife by being put on a leash for hours tied to the table.  We now only had one good leash left.  Four leather ones he had chewed through.  I temporarily had the leash tied to the post for I was treating all four dogs for being sprayed by a skunk.  After I lathered the solution on them I had to rinse it off.  They would never stand for that so I had to have them tied down while I was spraying them with the hose.  I had left the leash tied to the post and forgot about it.  He didn’t.  I simply had to laugh.  He did it again.

Tags: dog leash, dogs, four dogs, pets, sprayed by skunk, Tilla
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Let me introduce you one of my pets:  “Atilla The Hun” or “Tilla” for short.  He is a sixty plus pound black dog who just turned two.  His father “Pax” is a rottweiler mix and his mother “Sweetie” is a golden retriever and both live with us.

He is the reason we built our 100 foot long fence over a foot higher.  He could jump the previous one–not the biggest dog we have (we have four) but he is lean and muscular with a barrel chest and the only dog of ours who could perform that feat.

The state dog warden once paid us a visit.  It seems “Tilla” escaped and “terrorized” the local neighbor’s dog (and I use that word “terrorized” really loosely).  The two dogs simply barked loudly at each other.

He does have a timid nature although loving.  When my son comes over, he usually runs in the other direction.  And my son is good with dogs.

There are two other things he does that are unique:  he locks himself in the bathroom when he wants attention and the other is when he is anxious to go out he twirls rapidly in almost perfect circles.

He is the only dog who knows how to let himself out the front door.  We usually keep the screen door locked now.

He is the most aggressive of our four dogs.  If you put out four tidbits in front of them, he usually gets three of them.

He used to think he was still a puppy and snuggles onto my wife’s lap while she is sitting on her Lazy Boy all sixty-six pounds of him.

I started giving him an occasional walk for he was the only dog put on a chain (before we made the fence higher this summer).  Remember he could jump the fence.  I felt sorry for him.

Every time he hears the rattle of the chain he appears right in front of me.  Usually in five seconds or less.

He has become my dog and often sleeps with me on the bed.  There are probably more stories I could tell about him but this is a good start.

Tags: dog bark, dog leash, dog sleeps on bed, dog stories, dog warden, dogs, fenced yard, four dogs, front door, golden retriever, jump the fence, Lazy Boy, my son, my wife, Pax, pets, puppy, rottweiler mix, screen door, Sweetie, Tilla, walk the dog, when he wants attention
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No matter which way I go I hit an hill.  One way I encounter a steep incline, the other way I get a steady climb.  It is .8 mile around my block.  I walk “Tilla” one of my dogs.  He never refuses a walk.

I never forgot the time I was camping with my friend Chuck two summers ago.  There was a trail nearby (about a third of a mile) which led to the fishing pier on the lake.  Two summers ago I walked up it (it is all uphill) and in the heat and exertion I threw up three times.  It was not pleasant.

This summer I was determined to get into better shape and recapture my wind.  I never liked exercise for exercise sake.  Most people don’t.

I still get a little winded when I go up the hills.  This time I keep going.  I am thrilled my wind is returning and “Tilla” always comes running when he hears the jangling of the metal leash.

I also started shooting hoops by myself.  I have always enjoyed basketball.  I was not foolhardy enough to challenge any of the teenagers one on one.  It is amazing how a little exercise done regularly can change your conditioning.

Tags: basketball, camping, Chuck, climb, conditioning, dog, dog leash, dog walking, exercise, exertion, fishing pier, friend, get in shape, heat, hill, incline, lake, my wind, pets, shoot hoops, summer, teenagers, threw up, Tilla, trail, uphill, winded
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I have a new personal trainer and he is one tough disciplinarian.  He pushes me all the time.  He want me to go faster and faster.  Sometimes he gets waylaid.  He would do anything to run after a rabbit.

He is sixty-six pounds and is black and would take umpteen walks if he had his way.  He is cheap.  All he wants is to have a bowl of food and water and be petted periodically.

He keeps wanting me to go faster and faster.  We just came back from a predawn walk; he walked at the fastest clip yet.  My wind is getting better and better.

If I am not careful, he will fire me and get another trainee.  He wants walks all the time.  All you have to do is rattle the metal leash and within five seconds he is at my feet or say the word “walk” and his ears immediately perk up.

I am grateful for him and I make sure every time he rolls over on his back he gets his belly rubbed.  I do not want to take any chances he will be hired by any one else.  He is the best trainer I ever had.

Tags: belly-rub, bowl of food and water, dog food, dog leash, dog walk, dogs, God, my wind, personal trainer, pets, petted, predawn walk, walk
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I have many memorable stories about “Atilla The Hun” my bad black mutt but in here I will only relate one.  He got out again and I was chasing him.  Finally he comes up to me and dropped a green dog leash at my feet.  I had no intention of canvassing the neighborhood to see which stoop he stole the leash from.  You have to understand this was the day after the state dog warden had paid us a visit.  He had gotten loose again and harassed the neighbor’s dog.  I did not want to advertise he got out again and was roaming the neighborhood again loose.

I simply grabbed the leash and dropped it in the corner of the living room floor.  My wife a few days later noticed the leash was now in several sections lying on the floor.  Mister “Tilla” (for short) must have bit the leash into several parts.  He remembered the hours he spent tied to a the leash as punishment for another escapade in the surrounding area.  We also had gotten four chain leashes and he bit through the leather end of each of them, of course when we were not watching him.  We were not happy.

Later on we noticed that the green leash he found was now bitten through into NINE sections:  he was going to make sure that no dog was ever going to be put on that leash.  All we could do was both laugh.

Tags: dog chews up leashes, dog leash, dog running loose, dogs, humor, love, my wife, pets, Tilla
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