All Things Dog Blog

by Carrie Boyko

(c) Alan Boyko

Oliver Loves to Bike with Me

It's Oliver's turn to get interviewed, although this may be an interesting challenge. Getting inside the head of a toy-breed dog is not as simple as the more athletic breeds.

Oliver has two primary jobs. One is as the editor-and-chief of 5 Minutes for Fido and the other is described at the end of his interview. Now let's see what Oliver has to say:

Oliver

"My mom sure is determined to keep me from running the house. Every time I tell Tanner to get out of the pool, she puts me on the step in a "Stay", and I have to watch while he swims and has fun. After I'm a good boy, she gives me a toy to chase around the porch. Sometimes I swim too, but it's not my favorite thing to do. She says I have to know how to get out of the pool because I'm so short. How many times do I have to prove to her that I know where the shallow step is?"

"My favorite activity is pretending to be a sled dog when we go biking. I'm really fast and can run for a long time. Sometimes I even pull mom. I only weigh 9 lbs, so she doesn't let me do it much, but it sure is fun to be in charge of the run."

"Toy breeds are often considered lap dogs, but I'm not sure I'm a toy breed. I like active things like product modeling, meeting the neighbors, shopping and and walking with Tanner and Jacque. We get lots of funny looks from passersby. Haven't they ever seen three dogs walking before?"

"I'm really glad my mom gives us all organic dog food. When we learned that Xena had cancer years ago, Mom said we were all going to eat like she does. Xena's cancer could not be removed with surgery, but she was still a happy, playful girl for 3 more years. I hope I live to be old like her. She really proved those vets wrong; they said she would only be with us for a few more months. Hah!"

"We have lots of toys at my house, but my favorites are the ones in the freezer. Mom fills Kongs and other safe toys, freezing them with fillings like organic dog food, kibble, organic carrots, apples, and sometimes a little cheese. Yum! I love the cheese best."

" I really did enjoy showing up Tanner at agility class, but I was a little young and was not sure I liked being told what to do so much back then. Now that I'm all grown up I wouldn't mind going back to try it again. It was lots of fun to run and jump with mom; I didn't know she could do that stuff!"

"Recently I began learning some new skills that have turned out to be pretty neat for both mom and me. Apparently I have an extrasensory super duper nose. At least that's what I'm hearing. After I started staring my momma down when she smelled different she finally discovered that I was just trying to tell her that she didn't have the right scent, and that was a bad thing. She finally figured out that she was getting sick right after I gave her the high sign. Long story short, Viola! I'm now a Medical Alert Service Dog. Mom says, "Who knew Oliver had such mad skills?"

"I say, "I did! Clearly, Momma can't smell herself, and Tanner seems oblivious as well. She's lucky to have me to keep her out of trouble. Now I'll be accompanying her on her outings to keep her safe. I rather like that job. Sign me up!"