Thunder!!

Now, I actually don't mind being outside in a gentle rain, but thunder is a totally different story. Yesterday the rain didn't come in the afternoon, but it got humid, which was yucky. Then it started to THUNDER that night! Loud thunder. Repeatedly.

I went to Mom- Ma, make it stop! She made some silly reassuring noises and said that it couldn't hurt hurt me, it was just loud. She clearly has no idea how dangerous it is.

Does thunder scare you, students? How do you react? Does anything comfort you?? Have you tried a "thunder shirt"? Did it work for you?

Professor Chester, who likes the sky quiet

Rain, rain GO AWAY!

There are many good things about rain- it waters grass and other plants, it's good to drink, it's cool and refreshing, it makes great mud...But ENOUGH already!! It has rained almost every day for weeks! And when it's not raining, it's overcast and gray and looks like it wants to rain- go, away already!

I want more sunshine and fewer clouds! I am not a Lab and I don't play one on TV. I want to take care of my pawsonal bathroom needs without getting soaked all the time. I'm starting to grow moss, I think.

Do you like rain, students? Will you walk in it and potty in it? Does it matter to you if it's cold or warm when it rains? If you are a Lab or Lab-mix, how do you feel about water from the sky?

At least my Mom hasn't bought me one of those silly raincoats yet.


Professor Chester, not Professor Mushroom!

Thinking about grass

I'm sorry that I didn't post my class on Tuesday- my secretary is really pushing it....

I was laying out in the yard today, thinking about grass. Actually I was "grazing" as Mom calls it.

And then I rested in the soft, cool, buggy grass- heaven after a long, cold, wet Spring!

My Mom accidently deleted your 2 comments, students, in correcting this entry but- YES- we need to eat grass! Mom makes sure I choose wild places or yards that do not have fertilizer or chemicals on them, then she lets me eat to my heart's and stomach's content! We dogs know what's good for us- except when Minnie eats poop- but I digress.... We usually know what's good for us and we need grass as part of a balanced diet!

My name is Chester and I graze like a cow!

What about you, students- do you like to graze? Do your pawrents understand and support your need for grass?

The human named Walt Whitman wrote a book called Leaves of Grass, which contained the line, "I loaf and invite my soul"... The man understood the power and the glory of grass!


Professor Chester, loafing in the grass

Don't touch my toes!!

I missed my recent Diary Pick, everypup, because Mom and GMa left town Saturday and dropped Minnie and I off at Pampered Pets until Sunday. That would have been OK, except that she arranged for us both to get baths!

Thank Dog the boarding place charges a lot to bathe dogs of our size, even with short hair, so Ma only gets it done a couple times a year.(Minnie also got de-skunked again to get rid of her faint lingering smell.) As part of our grooming, they also do nail trims. Minnie cooperated with this, but I got stressed-out and refused! Ma had told them about my just-healed broken toe, but she didn't think I would have PTSD over it

Guess again, Ma. NO ONE is touching my traumatized, tender toes!

Other than my aborted attempeted nail trim, we had our usual grand old time- cots with our familiar blankets to sleep on, play sessions, our toys Mom packed,and Frosty Paws at night.

Have any of you students ever had PTSD after an injury or other trauma? How long did it take you to recover, or have you recovered fully? I think having loving, patient humans helps a great deal with the healing process...



Professor Chester, with my loving, patient Mom

It's fun, but be careful!

Students, I am an adaptable dog. I have lived in cities of some size (Richmond, VA), I have lived in rural WY and now I'm in a small city (Charlottesville, VA.) In all of my homes until this one, I have had a fenced-in yard.Now I have a yard with no fence! Mom walks us every morning and Crazy Aunt Susan and Uncle Robert set up a cable in the backyard that Mom or GMa can hook our collars to with a long lead.It allows us to run from side to side in the yard for the length of the cable if we so choose.

Minnie mostly stays in one place, her nose sniffing all the wonderful smells she can inhale. If Mom is sitting out with me, I plaster myself to her leg and don't move much, except for sniffing smells and wandering short distances.

This works for us, Pups. The only problem we have is when I'm sometimes left alone briefly- I can get my lead wrapped around the lawn chair Mom uses and knock it over, acaring myself silly when it crashes down.Yes, the noise and getting tangled up freaks me out! The last time this happened, I took off running and my lead hit GMa in the face and knocked her down!

(Don't worry- she's OK now and she wasn't mad at me.)

The lesson for today is: watch where your leashes and leads go and try not to knock over your humans! They are more frail than they appear and can easily be injured. Remember, a hurt human may not be able to take you for walks and feed you lots of treats!

Have you ever accidently or (gasp) on purpose hurt your human? What happened? Did you get in trouble??

Professor Chester, reminding us all to be kind to humans

0ops- I forgot class on Tuesday!

I guess I'm qualified to be an "absent-minded Professor"!

I was planning to bark about how to thoroughly sniff a cat, so in honor of Friday the 13th, go find a black cat to practice on, please.

If the cat is a willing participant, that's great. (If not, please apply liberal amounts of duct tape to the reluctant cat before attempting to sniff!)

I'm lucky to have one rugged, brave cat who appears to be part dog in his behavior (Shadow) out of the resident otherwise scaredycats who live here.

If the cat is facing away from you, take the opportunity to start by sniffing his butt. Nuzzle your nose- the bigger the better- into his tail region. Inhale deeply and hold your breath, letting the perfume of CAT bottom fill your senses.Meditate on why cats can create such yummy treats from their bottoms but never eat them themselves...

Next, snuffle along the side of your vict, um, subject cat. If the cat has not yet attempted to bite or scratch your handsome face- congratulations! Your subject is either familiar with dogs, extraordinarily peaceful, sleeping or perhaps dead.

Continue to the cat's head to check for regular breaths. If it is a very friendly cat, you may hear a pleasant rumbling noise; this is called s PURR and generally means the cat is happy to be nuzzled by a canine. If, on the other paw, you hear a noise like air escaping from a tire, this is called a HISS and means you should run away before you are shredded.


You and your subject cat may choose to touch noses- a friendly way of ending your encounter before you go your separate ways in peace.


Students, how close have you gotten to a cat? Did you hear purring or hissing noises? Did your nose get poked with the sharp needles that cats keep on their paws for emergencies?


Professor Chester, bold explorer

I'm back!

Pups, I sure have missed barking at you guys and gals! There's been nothin to do but go on vacation, break a toe, smell my stinky sister, start a volunteer job, get fired from said volunteer job- it's been downright boring!!

To set the record straight, the puppy I tried to smuggle out of the SPCA was a boy pup that I instructed on how to properly worship Ms. Minnie, he was clearly going to be a Big Dog with THOSE paws and he was REALLY cute! If only he hadn't sneezed going past the front desk we would have made it- darn puppy allergies to dirty laundry...

Anyway he's back at the SPCA so hurry up and go adopt him, OK? Tell him Chester sent ya!

In other news, I have seen pollen balls rolling down my street as big as that puppy, so I'm going to try to adopt one of those if I can; I do NOT give up easily.

Who or what would you like to adopt if you could, students? (And, no, you can't adopt food or even MEATZ.)

Hey, I know- lets go adopt ALL the animals in ALL the shelters for this Easter! Definately go get ALL the bunnies out- one might be THE bunny, y'know?

OK, students, fan out and start adopting- you can tell your pawrents later, OK?

It feels so good to be back- sloppy kisses to you all!



Professor Chester, on a mission

Wow- thanks for my woofday wishes, everypup!

This is especially sweet because I was just fired from my volunteer job at the local SPCA... Just because I tried to sneak a puppy home for my Mom to adopt- sheesh. Those shelter people have NO sense of humor! And nary a silk pillow in sight for the pups to use- I don't think I would like that job anyway.I'd better go back to writing my "Professor Chester" insights and observations- what do you pups think?? I think I'm ready for duty, my furiends and students.

Sloppy kisses to all; I'll write again starting this Tuesday, OK?


Professor Chester, dusting off my diploma

I am being respectful

Gma read an article somewhere that if a dog does not look directly at a cat he is being respectful of the cat.

Yeah- that's it- I'm not scared of Shadow- I'm respectful!


Liking that viewpoint,

Chester

Almost perfect...

Today Ma decided it was too chilly for us to sit outside and get fresh air, so she loaded up 3 treat toys with all-natural, all-yummy dried carrots and dried sweet potatos and put us to work.

How could it have been more perfect?

If she skipped the treat toys and just fed us the treats as we reclined on silk pillows, of course.


Do I have to explain everything to you Pups?

Sorry- I get a bit miffed when my silk pillow is not provided at treat time. This rescued pup appreciates a little luxury!

OK,OK- I got it good. My apology to all pups waiting for homes to be spoiled rotten in- hope it's soon!

Chester, definately a tad spoiled