Ray, Ninja Dog

Ray's leg was looking kind of swollen after his walk. He must have slept on it funny. Usually, when Ray is in bed in the evening, if his bum leg faces up, I'll slip a pillow under it so that the fluid can drain out. He's a very malleable dog. I can do anything to him while he's sleeping. I think he's one of those dogs that will wear funny eyeglasses or hats or wigs. (hmmmm, maybe a later post.) 
Anyway, Gregg took Ray for a walk with me trailing both of them so that I could try to pass on the wisdom of the trainer. Despite my horrible instructions, Gregg had it down in no time, and Ray behaved very well. When we got back, Gregg took off to get some propane for the gas grill and I curled back up on the couch with the morning paper. Ray settled in beside me. I massaged his leg for awhile, like my friend Joanne had taught me, and then slipped a pillow under it. (No, this dog is not spoiled.) 

Ray relaxing with a pillow under his bum leg

Earlier in the morning, I had let Ray out to pee, opened the sliding glass door to the backyard, but left the baby gate in place and the door to the kitchen closed. I wrapped Moonie in a towel, brought her down and put her in the spot that she usually inhabits when we eat breakfast and read the paper. She watched Ray move around on the patio for awhile but when Ray came inside she freaked out and took off. I went upstairs to try to snag Hugo but he was just too cagey and would duck under the bed. Hugo is really going to be tough nut to crack. I don't know how he will ever get used to the dog.

After Gregg came back, we took off to check out an estate sale. We left Ray in the kitchen instead of outside because it was supposed to rain. We were gone about 30 minutes and when we got back a woman was walking a Great Dane by the house. We said hi, told her what a beautiful dog she had, and found out that the dog was only seven months old and already 90 pounds. I asked her if I could bring Ray out to meet her Dane and she was agreeable. 

When I tried to open the front door to retrieve the hound, I met resistance. It was Ray blocking the door. The saltshaker was in the hallway (he has a thing about the saltshaker) along with a few other random things. I quickly checked the baby gate and the kitchen door, both of which were still in place. Since the Dane and his owner were waiting for us, I leashed Ray and took him outside. 
"Ray got out of the kitchen," I said to Gregg. 

Ray smelled that other dog and went crazy. They played a bit on the ends of their leashes and we chatted with the big dog's owner. 
After they left I told Gregg, "I'm going to take Ray for a walk. There's a saltshaker in the hallway." 

It took me about a block or so to get Ray under control, he was so wound up after playing with the dog and doing an escape act over the baby gate. When I got back I found that it was not only the saltshaker but also Gregg's glasses case which was a bit the worse for chewing. I threw the case in Ray's toy basket. Maybe not a good idea but it seemed a shame to waste it when it could be a perfectly good dog toy.

Gregg took off to go running. I went to do laundry. The trashcan was over on its side and trash was strewn all around. The 'high-tech' dog-lock that keeps the door open a few inches so that the cats can get to their catboxes, was still in place (Obviously, the coat hanger bent in half around the door knob with the hook part in the latch-hole wasn't going to be effective). Either Hugo was trying to set up Ray or Ray had managed to squeeze himself in and out without dislodging the dog-lock. Verrrrry Ninja-like.

For the rest of the day, Ray would not settle down. He paced and paced, went outside, bayed and ran around, and bumped into things a lot. It was a cloudy day and the light in the house was dimmer than usual. I felt bad for him. He obviously was missing something or someone and I couldn't do a thing about it. It was one of those days where I had that niggling feeling again that Ray needs another dog. I think he's lonely.