I have lived 16 happy years with my eyes & ears wide open and gained so much knowledge, many fleas, a couple of booboos, and lots of love. I have such a good life and to hopefully make things a little easier along your way I want to share some of it with you. ( Not the fleas!) My personal two legged assistant will translate for me...

Now, there are all sorts of critters to deal with, mostly outside your door. I lived near the woods so I learned very quickly the ins and outs of all the critters that lived near my house. You will need to explore some of these on your own but here's what I have learned so far...

First, moles don't hold up well when you try to play with them. For smaller dogs it might work ok but all 32 lbs of me was too much for those delicate little guys. One or two paws on their heads and they're done. Caput. No fun.

The raccoons don't play nice at all. One took out a chuck of my ear when I tried to play with it. My two legged assistant had stuff that I didn't like at all but she put it on my ear and the booboos on my mouth, front leg, back leg and that really sore spot on my chest. I had to put up with that for a couple of days till she stopped doing that to me. Try to avoid it, or raccoons, for that matter. It healed quickly and I would like to say that I was back outside playing again long before I saw that raccoon back out. Hmphh.

The other really bad critter to avoid is the black & white kitty with the strong perfume. If you get near one of those your person will probably give you a bath in tomato juice. I tried to catch an old tomato once when I was a puppy and that didn't turn out so well, never thought I'd have to get a bath in that stuff!

The first time I got some of that black and white kitty perfume I thought I smelled good. My person didn't agree so I had the tomato juice bath. My skin was burning badly after that, and I smelled like black & white kitty and tomato juice, so she gave me another bath in some stuff that made the burning go away. Too many baths for my taste.

The next several times I tried to get some of that good perfume she gave me a bath in a special home made recipe...

1/4 Cup Baking Soda

1 tsp dish detergent

and 1 quart bottle of hydrogen peroxide.

I was totally drenched in the stuff and all my perfume disappeared, but it didn't make my skin burn like the tomato juice and I only endured the one bath.

As far as chasing bunnies goes, be very careful. They have a tendency to stop right in the middle of a good chase. One day I was having such fun when all of a sudden the darned thing stopped on a dime. I didn't have time to stop so I ran into, somersaulted over, and came up on the other side of the beast a bit disoriented with a slight pain in my hip. Save yourself the embarrassment, when you must chase maintain a safe distance for bunnies.

Birds always fly away so do not waste good energy on them but rather use them as a pleasant pastime. Chipmunks & squirrels climb trees so they're not fun for long. Snakes are sneaky long things and can really surprise you with quick moves so it's best to stay clear of them unless you're just as fast.

Ground hogs always have a hiding place in the dirt but if you dig after them your two legged assistant may not like it, especially if it's the middle of the green flat area. If you dig a hole in the woods after them she may not even notice what you did so that's okay.

Cats, on the other hand, are fair game. (Not to offend any cat lovers out there, but I am a dog. Come on!) Some cats just get hissy and some climb trees but most are worth a good run after. Its good to run just for the fun of it every day.

Speaking of running, I'm off for one myself now. Maybe I'll go into the woods and chase groundhogs because digging is good for you too!