Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If ‘weird’ was the finish line, they ran through the tape and kept running.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

The choice is between normal and crazy.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Ron DeSantis, the grand wizard, oops, governor of FL.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Fight for a just cause, love your fellow man, live a good life.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Lick the third rail, it tastes like chocolate!

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

The frogs are rarely mistaken.

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / The Difference Between Dogs

The Difference Between Dogs

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The difference between my dogs, explained.

The water bowl downstairs empty.

Lily: Sit quietly by the dog bowl when I go into the kitchen an wait for me to glance at her and realize the bowl is empty.

Thurston: Aggressively lap at the empty bowl, banging collar and name tag off the rim of the bowl making an unbelievable ruckus.

Rosie: Knock the god damned bowl into living room.

Reader Interactions

91Comments

  3. 3.

    Eric U.

    Our first dog would knock the bowl around until we filled it. Now that he’s gone, dog number two flips the bowl over. It’s actually somewhat useful, because I don’t usually pay attention to the water bowl. Elkhound just waits until the bowl has been filled and muscles dog number two out of the way.

  4. 4.

    JPL

    Finch waits for me to fill the bowl, but Moxie would pick it up and act like her inner thurston. Most of the time though neither is necessary because I keep the bowl filled.

  6. 6.

    Raven

    So this may be a good thread to ask again if anyone has been, or had experience with, dog walking for dough? I’m 6 month out from retirement and thinking of options.

  7. 7.

    sukabi

    John, communication methods vary between people too….when they learn to speak english they’ll make explicitly clear how much they want their god damned water.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    LOL, John. Why I have cats.

    Well, actually, I have no four-foots in my life at this moment, but if I did, they would be cats.

  10. 10.

    Laura Too

    Our old dog Pete would walk over to the fridge and stand with his head down because we always kept filtered water in there. (he lost all the hair on his nose if he got fluoridated water-finding out what caused it was an expensive find)

  11. 11.

    Laura Too

    Our new dog just waits until the cat bitches loud enough to get my attention when the bowl is empty.

  12. 12.

    scav

    The meek may inherit the earth, but they may very well die of dehydration first. Sitting patiently by the bill of rights waiting for an attentive glance didn’t get much accomplished on its own. It’s always a question of balence.

  13. 13.

    debbie

    @Raven:

    I’ve known a few dog walkers. The dogs they walked always loved them. If you have a good rapport with dogs when you first meet each other, you should be a great walker. Also, if you walk dogs in groups, know that they will plot to entangle you in their leashes.

  14. 14.

    Virginia

    Our JRT, Smarty, acts like the union rep for the food bowls. She waits till someone is in the kitchen then goes to a bowl and dramatically licks it until it’s filled. Then she leaves and another dog comes by to eat.

  15. 15.

    raven

    @debbie: Every dog in the neighborhood knows me because I’m an equal opportunity cookie giver outer! Our life is basically centered on our dogs but we love most all of them!

  16. 16.

    debbie

    @raven:

    Will your dogs be part of the pack? Will they be jealous of the others?

    I remember seeing one guy walking more than 10 dogs, most Lab-sized, in a pretty orderly fashion. It was pretty impressive.

  17. 17.

    Ruckus

    @Raven:
    If you like walking you own dog and don’t mind picking up poop then it’s probably not a bad gig. Have no idea if the pay might be worth it or not.
    Also it’s not bad excise for an old man. And you and I are very, very close to qualifying on that score. I just moved and now walk 6 miles a week just getting to and from work. And that takes less time than it did to drive from my old place. The train isn’t as convenient on the home end but it’s not bad.

  18. 18.

    ixnay

    So, most pushy of our 5 cats has started in the past year to paddle in the water bowl to the tune of a couple of cups splashed out. He is not a youngster, something like 10+ years. About to try a fountain, or a bowl with a serious rim. Good thing we have an aged farm house with crap floors.

  19. 19.

    Raven

    @debbie: I’m thinking about this as an income supplement. While Bohdi is doing pretty well for 15 his walking is limited. Lil Bit is really struggling, the combination of being blind, deaf and having arthritis in her back legs mean I either drag her or carry her.

  20. 20.

    Raven

    @Ruckus: we’ve walked two miles in the morning for years and I swim for 30 minutes every other day so I’m fairly mobile. I bought an Apple Watch 4 and it tracks everything and I’ve been surprised that I walk about 4 miles a day just around the crib. I also have a veridesk so I stand and work a good bit too. Of course that won’t matter in 6 months. I think the dough is pretty good, especially if I do it on the subterranean economy.

  22. 22.

    RepubAnon

    I have one of those cat fountains – when it’s getting low, the pump starts a grinding noise… saves the cats from the effort of informing their staff that more water is needed.

  25. 25.

    geg6

    Hahaha, Lovey does the exact same thing that Thurston does. Being an ornery mother fucker runs in the genes.

  26. 26.

    Aleta

    This dog, if his water bowls are empty, goes to the cats’ bowls. They’re half hidden so he won’t use them, so he makes a mess emptying one. Leaves so much brown sludge behind in the other that the cats are appalled. They come to tell me. I misunderstand, get up to give them one thing after another for the next 30 minutes. Finally realize it’s the water. Clean all the bowls. Fresh water. Wipe up the floor. Hang out the towel and the sodden bathmat. Now the dog has spilled half the water out of each of his bowls, and all the animals believe they need immediate food.

  27. 27.

    eemom

    I actually have something useful to say, and fucking wordpress keeps eating my comments and telling me they’re spam.

    Been trying to suggest to raven that he sign up with a fairly well known online entity that matches pet owners with pet sitters/walkers and which seems to work pretty well on both sides of the leash. But every time I try to type its name FWP goes batshit.

    Hint: it is a common cliche name for a dog that begins and ends with an R followed by a dot kahm.

    Let’s see if this one makes it.

  28. 28.

    geg6

    @Raven:

    My staff assistant’s son walks dogs for a living. He and his girlfriend live in a nice part of the city, so he must make a decent buck.

  30. 30.

    raven

    Wag and Rover are two of the newest and largest players in the booming pet industry, each with more than $300 million in venture capital funding. Both companies are digital marketplaces where pet owners can find dog walkers, pet sitters, and boarders via an app, with most services ranging from about $20 to $50. Wag is often referred to as “Uber for dogs,” since it assigns on-demand walkers and sitters, similar to the way Uber’s algorithm assigns drivers, though pet owners ultimately approve or decline the worker they’re offered. Rover has earned the nickname “DogBnb,” as users can sift through hundreds of available workers who set their own prices.

  31. 31.

    HinTN

    @eemom: And had that game associated with it, something about Red…

    We used it to find our current sitter and we’re pleased. Also go direct to the sitter more that we’re established.

  32. 32.

    HinTN

    @raven: So raven can say it and eemom can’t. We loves us some WP, yes we do.

    ETCorrect fucking autocorrect

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven: I do not, but I did pay the 13-year-old in the house behind me $20 a week to walk Henry twice a day after his ACL surgery when I had my broken ankle. Does that help?

  36. 36.

    Ruckus

    @Raven:
    I’ve always walked a fair amount as well it’s an additional 6 miles to work a week. I do find that as the days go by my walking gets just a bit tougher though. Don’t think it’s conditioning because some days I don’t feel tired any more than usual but various bits and pieces just don’t cooperate with each other for a bit and then that goes away and I’m fine till the next fun filled adventure strikes.

  38. 38.

    raven

    @WaterGirl: When we leave them, which is very rare, we pay what it would cost to board them. Lil Bit requires such care and we need to be sure. I’m guessing my standing as a pillar of the community would serve me well if I decided to try it.

  39. 39.

    raven

    @HinTN: She did it, I was useless except on the day of. I don’t like meetings. It takes all year to organize the damn thing.

  40. 40.

    Suzanne

    This post is a perfect example of why Rosie is my favorite Cole pet: she takes no shit.

    Baud! / Rosie 2020.

  41. 41.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: If you know all the dogs, you must see their peeps — why not eliminate the middle-man? Print up some business cards and let folks know your plan for retirement.

  42. 42.

    raven

    @Ruckus: When I swim it’s like when I was a runner, I always want to bail for the first few laps. The watch is cool because it’s causing me to stick with the time I set without cheating. The damn thing even know what stroke you are doing! Speaking of strokes!

  46. 46.

    TinRoofRusted

    @raven:
    My daughter walks dogs via Wag in DC. It is perfect for a college student. She makes as much money as she needs. Not enough to pay tuition at GWU but enough to cover whatever she wants to do for the weekend. My neighbor retired 3 years ago and started to walk neighborhood pups. He now walks about 5 dogs and loves it. Good luck!

  47. 47.

    Raven

    @WaterGirl: Idris Elba’s new Netflix comedy “Turn Up Charlie” will debut March 15, the streaming giant announced Thursday, as it also released the first images from the show.

    Co-created by Elba and Gary Reich, “Turn Up Charlie” sees Elba star as a struggling DJ and eternal bachelor, who is given a final chance at success when he reluctantly becomes a “manny” to his famous best friend’s problem-child daughter (Frankie Hervey). Piper Perabo and JJ Feild co-star. The cast also includes Angela Griffin, Guz Khan, Jocelyn Jee Esein, Jade Anouka, Cameron King and Dustin Demri-Burns.

  48. 48.

    WaterGirl

    @Raven: I had no idea. My heart is going pitter-pat. My love for Idris Elba is (perhaps) only exceeded by lamb’s.

  51. 51.

    Geeno

    My “Lily”, a way too large to show female Lab named Sam (Black Lady Samantha II on her registry), used to take her heavily weighted food bowl to the basement stairs and drop it. Boom – bang – clatter – crash – thud. And if we ignored her, she’d retrieve her bowl and do it again, and again, etc., etc.
    When I say way too large to show – I don’t mean overweight – she was just a big gal – 2″ too tall at the withers, 4″ too long nose to base of tail, and consequently, nearly 20 pounds overweight (for showing).
    When I call Sam my “Lily”, I mean she was ‘that dog’. The one you connected with and bonded with almost effortlessly. I’ve had other dogs – all of whom I’ve loved – but not another Sam.

  54. 54.

    JPL

    Not sure what is happening but according to https://twitter.com/RealPressSecBot trump is tweeting tonight. I think the dems might be the cause of Kim’s walkout at the summit but I’m not sure. The pres needs to go to bed and just relax in case we have a real crisis.

  56. 56.

    Old Dan and Little Anne

    The old crazy rescue, Yeller, used to tip the bowl of water over with his paw at least once a week. For 6 years. Bastard. Mickey before him would carry the empty bowl of water to wherever I was sitting and drop on the floor. CLANG! The new pup doesn’t have any clever moves, yet.

  58. 58.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @JPL: About 45 minutes ago:

    For the Democrats to interview in open hearings a convicted liar & fraudster, at the same time as the very important Nuclear Summit with North Korea, is perhaps a new low in American politics and may have contributed to the “walk.” Never done when a president is overseas. Shame!

  60. 60.

    jl

    Rosie and Cole have a lot in common. Probably explains their charmingly dysfunctional relationship.
    If only Tunch were still here, Rosie would have her old partner in crime to wreak more havoc on Cole. Oh… those halcyon days of yore… I’m getting weepy now. better go before I start blubbering.

  61. 61.

    CliosFanBoy

    @CaseyL: me too. Love Rosie! (ok and Lily and Thurston) Our little wiener dog will walk to the dish, then walk over to eye you, then walk to the dish, then walk over to you, then walk to the dish……repeat and repeat and repeat until the dumb human gets the point.

  64. 64.

    jl

    If Trump ever has time for a pet, what kind of insect farm would it be?
    Do roach motels count?

    That’s what I want to know.

  65. 65.

    different-church-lady

    I’m gonna yank things in a philosophical direction. Because I need to do it with someone…

    a) Do you believe in joy?

    b) Do you think the experience of joy is a real, legitimate thing, not just a delusion, or over-reaction to momentary circumstance? Is joy more than a kick?

  66. 66.

    Patricia Kayden

    Lol! At least none of the dogs are throwing their empty water bowls at you. Yet.

  67. 67.

    Aleta

    @JPL: He does seem upset. I wonder if the House will be calling Ivanka.

    “Tomorrow, we will be issuing document requests to over 60 different people and individuals from the White House to the Department of Justice, Donald Trump, Jr., to [Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer] Allen Weisselberg, to begin the investigations to present the case to the American people about obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power,” Nadler said.(LA Times)

    Besides Rand Paul, Warner and Schiff were each saying “direct evidence” on TV (re: Russia-campaign cooperation”).

    “I am an innocent man being persecuted [… …] And only because I won the Election! Despite this, great success!”

    “My wonderful daughter, Ivanka, will be interviewed tonight by [faux news] 9:00 P.M. She works so hard and has achieved so much for the U.S.A.(and gets so little credit!).”

    “the most vicious and corrupt Mainstream Media that any president has ever had to endure – Yet the most successful first two years for any”

    “in open hearings a convicted liar & fraudster, at the same time as the very important Nuclear Summit […] Never done when a president is overseas. Shame!”

    “Senate must act!”

  68. 68.

    jl

    I guess this is not off topic, since it involves the cops shooting people like they are dogs.
    But the statement of the Sacramento DA on decision not to charge cops who shot Stephon Clark was disturbing.
    From news report on her decision, apparently cell texting evidence suggesting that he might (note ‘might’, as far as I can tell his partner never filed a report) have committed domestic violence, and he had some emotional problems and did internet searches on suicide went into the decision. How is that?

    And how is that the DA decided it was worth going over that irrelevant stuff in detail at her public statement? What a load of crap.And officers involved never interviewed. I’m surprised Sacramento is quiet over it, as far as I can tell from the news.

  72. 72.

    ??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??

    @Aleta:

    “Senate must act!”

    I know that’s your idea of what Trump (an idiot) would say, but honestly, what would the Senate be able to do? They can’t shut down House investigations, after all

  78. 78.

    Lapassionara

    @jl: All of that should be irrelevant to what the police saw that prompted the shooting. Let us hope the family pursues a civil case.

  79. 79.

    Pogonip

    I had clinical depression (runs in the family), so I feel joy each day when I wake up and the black dog is NOT nipping at my heels. It’s probably much harder for the average healthy person to feel joy in soul-sucking 21st century America. I often wonder if St. Paul, who found joy even in jail, could be as happy if he were living now.

  81. 81.

    Suzanne

    @Yutsano:

    You think she would take second fiddle?

    I could see Rosie taking the VP slot, then plotting Baud’s demise the entire time.

  82. 82.

    Immanentize

    @Lapassionara:
    I have reason to believe that many police departments decide not to prosecute while at the same moment agreeing to a very substantial civil payout.

  87. 87.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Immanentize: I have reason to know that some, in fact, do exactly that.

    @Steve in the ATL: As you know, in some counties that decision could be counterproductive. Sadly, far too few.

  89. 89.

    Aleta

    @??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: No, if you look back at JPL’S link you’ll see that’s what T was tweeting tonight. His full quote: “Schumer & the Democrats are hurting our Country. Senate Republicans must take BOLD ACTION!” The trigger is probably some combination of the news about Rand Paul’s vote + what Schumer, etc. said today + his fear of what will happen as the R Senate stops protecting him. And the media will cover a Senate vote against his ED as a widening crack in his power, which he will hate.

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