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

The latest about Tilla, my favorite dog.  My wife last night let the dogs back in.  She had some scraps from dinner in her left hand, which she had extended.  Three dogs came in and Tilla without missing a beat jumped up and grabbed a bite as he came in.  My wife laughed.  He does not miss anything.  Last night he slept on my bed as usual but was along the left side of me not far from my reach.  I petted him several times during the night.  He was in that position for hours.  There is nothing like togetherness.

Tags: bed, dinner scraps, dog sleeps on bed, dogs, my wife, nothing like togetherness, pets, petted, Tilla
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Tilla, one of my dogs did it again.  We were about to go to bed.  My wife took her spot on the left side.  And my eighty pound short-haired black dog jumped on the bed, took my spot on the right and curled up looking so comfortable at the head of the bed.  He would not move and I slipped in bed to the right of him almost off the bed and tried to grab what blanket I had left.  My left hand wrapped around his sleeping body as I slept on my side.  The black mid-sized dog was quite cozy.  He even sighed a few times.  Thank God it was a king sized bed!  At some point he jumped off the bed but I did not notice.  I was long asleep.

Tags: bedtime, dog sleeps on bed, dogs, my wife, pets, sleep, thank God, Tilla
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Most nights I am greeted by my three black pets when I go to bed.  There is “Coco” my female “pup” who usually is at the foot of my bed.  Then there is “Tilla” another “pup”, who sometimes lies on the left side of my bed and other times is on the the bed.

Sometimes in the middle of the night I find him curled right next to me.  I call these two dogs “pups” but they are full grown now.  There is my black cat “Cool Hand Luke” who is never too far from me sometimes snuggling right next to me.

This is their routine.  And they know mine.  My cat has been with me almost ten years even before Lynelle and I married.

I have other pets (two more dogs and six more cats) but these three are special and when they are not in my bedroom when I go to bed I miss them.  I always leave the door ajar so if they want to leave, they can.  They have spirits of their own.

Tags: cat sleeps on bed, cats, Coco, Cool Hand Luke, dog sleeps on bed, dogs, four dogs, pets, seven cats, Tilla
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My favorite dog “Tilla” had joined me in bed and was sleeping right along side of me.  There were no uncomfortable dreams last night.  I slept soundly.  I stayed away from fluids last night.  I usually wake up several times a night and had gotten in the bad habit of taking a quick swig of something before going back to bed.  This time I refrained from doing that.  So I got up less to use the bathroom.  I discovered “Tilla” sleeping along side of me at some point last night.  That is all I remember of the night.

Tags: dog sleeps on bed, dogs, dreams, last night, pets, sleep, sleep soundly, Tilla, use the bathroom at night, wake up at night
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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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One of my new pups (she was two in July) has a new name “Wiggly”.  My daughter says you can not rename a pet but I did.  Her original name was “Coco” but I renamed her “Wiggly” because it was descriptive of her:  when she sees you, she wiggles in delight all over.

Her whole body is in motion and her black tail sweeps back and forth.  She will “attack” you and slobber all over you when she meets you.  She is female and completely black except for a splash of white under her throat.

She is a funny dog.  She likes her privacy and sometimes will spend most of her day outside.  Inside, she often goes off by herself and lays down on our bed.

She is a long haired dog with adorable fluffy ears.  She is very affectionate and can be quite insistent when she wants to go out.  “Wiggly” describes her to a tee and she is now responding to that name.

Tags: affectionate, Coco, daughter, delight, dog sleeps on bed, dogs, pets, pups, rename a pet, Wiggly
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Everything is by grace.  The first dog I ever raised from a pup, “Daisy”, who died over two years ago, I missed terribly.  She was one stubborn dog and the first one that I trained.  And I trained her when she was an adult.

Her training started when I got tired of replacing broken windows in our front door.  “Daisy” would go crazy every time I left my house.  She would jump at me repeatedly and bark uncontrollably.  When she startled me once and I slammed my front door a little too hard cracking the window again, I decided despite her age it was time to do something about it.

Every time she barked at me when I was leaving the house, I would put my hands around her snout and keep them there for a short time.  When I released my hands, if she then barked I did nothing but if she did not bark I praised her.  I repeated this technique countless times.  Finally at some point I realized I broke her of the habit of barking at me frantically every time I left the house.  All I had to do was “Shush” her and she would immediately quiet down.

My wife was amazed that when she slept on our bed she would go to the furthest most corner and curl up.  She had no idea how many countless times I had pushed her away from me.

Daisy would never take her eyes off of me when I was in the same room.  She was my dog and when she died I missed her terribly.  I never thought another dog would come along like her.

Well, one did, finally to my surprise:  “Atilla The Hun” or “Tilla” for short.  Unlike “Daisy” he was very eager to please.  He was just very undisciplined.  I never had a dog that would want so many belly rubs.  I, almost, never denied him.  It was hilarious.  He would turn over every time I went to bring him in the house.  The turning point with him was when I started giving him walks.

I knew he had become my “Dog” when just about every night he would join me in the bedroom and usually curl up at the base of my bed.  He is not “Daisy” by any means but I realized God had sent me another dog.  Everything is by grace.

Tags: bark, belly-rub, Daisy, dog sleeps on bed, dog training, dog walking, dogs, eager to please, everything-is-by-grace, God, grace, my dog, my wife, pets, puppy, Tilla, undisciplined
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I love my dogs.  No matter how unlovable I have acted, they do not hold any grudges.  They never give me the silent treatment except when they are asleep.  They just love me, come up to me snuggle up to me, lick my face eagerly.

Despite the fact I may have committed several indiscretions in a row, they do not punish me.  This was one of these days.  Despite how badly I have behaved today when I went to bed, both of my blacks pups joined me in the bedroom, one cuddled up next to me and the other lay at the foot of my bed.

I know I am not always that forgiving and I can certainly learn from their example.

They always greet me at the door like I had been away for days (and weeks) instead of the hours I have been.

There is no guile:  they either like you or don’t.  They don’t play “pretend” or hide their feelings like some humans do.  I always know how they feel about me.

There are so many reasons I love dogs but these are just a few.

Tags: dog sleeps on bed, dogs, dogs do not hold grudges, dogs greet me at the door, dogs just love me, forgiving, God, guile, hide your feelings, learn from their example, lick my face, love, love dogs, no guile, pets, pups, silent treatment, snuggle up, unlovable
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Coco can only do one thing:  she loves.  When she sees you, she wiggles excitedly in every which direction and slobbers on your face.  You have no doubt she loves you and is extremely glad to see you.

The ability she has to love you seems quite elementary.  For a dog, that is.  Yet, so many people have quite a problem with it–expressing love and affection openly.  In fact, so many people are much more comfortable with their pets than humans.  There is no deceit, no lies, twisted truths demonstrated towards them by their pets.  They either like you or don’t.  There is no guile.

Of course, each animal has their personality.  Coco will stay out in the yard for hours all by herself and also when she is in the house she will often lie down on our bed all by herself.  She likes her privacy.  She is loved by everyone in this house and loves back freely.  That is no small thing.  There is a reason so many people own dogs.  They forgive quickly, just ask you for a bowl of food and water and do not make many demands beyond that except occasionally to sit on your lap and be petted.  Wouldn’t it be nice if others’ demands were that simple?  Love is never a simple thing.  Dogs, though, make it appear that way.

Tags: animals, Coco, dog sleeps on bed, dogs, dogs make love appear simple, each animal has their personality, express love and affection openly, forgiveness, God, love, no guile, pets, relationships
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