"Everybody Poos" Is a Horrible and Inconvenient Fact of Life

Last night I endeavored on the disgusting yearly task of cleaning up all the poo and poo fossils from the back yard that remained after the final melt. 

Cons:

Smelly

Sore Back

Dogs trying to ‘help’ (one thinking the clean up bucket was an all you can eat buffet and one thinking it was an excellent place to drop her toy- why did I teach her that trick again??)

A certain puppy had recently been very ill, making for some particularly nauseating remains

Pros:

Poo Removal is synonymous with Spring

Only one dog for most of the winter (how do people with multiple dogs handle this???)

Sanitary dogs who poo in only a small portion of the yard

Able to discover many artifacts eaten by The Pup…ew. Perhaps actually a con.

Could pretend I was an archaeologist if I didn’t think to hard about it.

Clean yard to play in!  That is the best part. With a clean yard we were able to train outdoors! The Dog practiced her cik/cap turns in an area larger than 5’ x10’ and I am pleased to see it still worked! Then The Pup got to do some attention work in a new, inviting environment (bunny poo! STICKS! Neighbor dogs!).

Mostly though, they got to stretch their legs and RUN.  We got out Stick, who is an orange rubber ‘stick’ (No, for the LAST TIME it is NOT A SEX TOY!!!) and an outdoor toy only (Stick gets kinda gross). The Dog had a joyous reunion. (Stick came into her life last summer. She used to enjoy carrying real sticks around while I did yard work. Then she somehow punctured the back of her throat on one. Do you see a pattern here? The Dog should be in a padded room or bubble, but I will settle for Border Collie-proof toys instead.) The Pup found Stick to be AMAZING (but what doesn’t she find amazing, really?). 

Ooo, one more pro… now that the yard is clear…we can start construction on my dogwalk! YEA!!! I figure if The Pup is going to have a running contact I probably need to invest in one.

Let’s just hope Neighbor Lady’s pool doesn’t overflow into our yard again this year. Otherwise my dogwalk will need to double as an ark…. 

The Dog Says "Stick is my friend! Stick is the best!"

The Pup Says: "REAL Sticks are better- did u know u can eats dem?"

"Come play with us! Quick, before it snows again!"

"Um, Da Pup stole Stick. Help pulease."

"K, I broughts Stick- Pup attached. U throw now!"

And a quick video of The Dog and The Pup- Pup has Stick and is lording it over The Dog, who is simply biding her time until Stick is hers again.  Unfortunately for Pup, she usually forgets one important element to 'keep away-' Keep a hold on that which you are keeping away.  The Dog is thusly rewarded for her patience.