MDS: Yesterday, Barley, you told us about “fetching” the Robinson’s pet parrot. Any other pet stories?

Barley: I’m used to being around cats; my care person has several, and they’re pretty cool. But the Robinsons have this really grumpy black cat that weighs about twenty pounds. Every time I try to say “hello” or play with it, it swats me in the nose with its claws. Plus, it catches a rat or a mouse once in a while and leaves body parts lying on the rug, which I think is just plain rude.

MDS: What’s the best thing about being a rent-a-dog?

Barley: Well, I really do like to meet new people and dogs. This way, I have my care person and three other owners. And they all take me for walks sometimes, so I guess I get to meet four times as many people and dogs as most dogs.

MDS: What has been the worst thing about being a rent-a-dog?

Barley: There’s this incredibly beautiful, sexy French Poodle who lives next door to Mr. Martin. I can talk to her through the chain link fence; we even sniff and lick each other’s noses sometimes. I absolutely fell in love with her. We talked about making puppies, which I’m not sure I’m able to do any more. But we talked about it. So my heart just aches when Thursday morning comes and the van comes to take me back to my care person.

MDS: How does being a rent-a-dog work with your toys.

Barley: Oh, man. You just had to bring that up. Lots of people don’t realize this, but many dogs have a favorite toy that works like a child’s “security blanket.” It like a pacifier. It’s a toy that a dog falls in love with. In my case, my favorite toy is a soft stuffed thing that looks like a big bone. It’s something Mrs. Thompson bought at a pet store. I really love that bone. I keep it close to me all day every Friday, and it helps me relax in the evening. By the time I go to bed, I’m totally relaxed and I just sleep like a log. It’s the best sleep I ever get. But it’s only on Friday nights. I really miss that bone the rest of the week.

MDS: Do you ever play ball with your renters?

Barley: I really like to play with tennis balls, because they feel soft in my mouth. Mrs. Robinson always has a few tennis balls around, and she tries to play catch with me, which is fun. But she can’t throw worth a damn. Mr. Martin and Mrs. Thompson wouldn’t know a ball if it hit them between the eyes.

MDS: What are some other good things about being a rent-a-dog?

Barley: Well, I know I’m making all my renters happy. I do feel good about that. It doesn’t work for them to have a full-time dog, so I’m glad I can cheer them up a little. It’s something I feel good about.

MDS: How would you feel about being adopted by one of your renters?

Barley: I’d feel good if it was Mr. Martin. I love the three-mile walks and the premium beef. I’d hate to be cooped up in Mrs. Thompson’s apartment. And it’s fun to sleep with the Robinsons, but that’s really the only good thing that happens to me on Sundays.

MDS: Barley, it’s been great to talk with you. You can have the final word.

Barley: Well, being a rent-a-dog isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – at least for the dog. But all things considered, I’d rather be a rent-a-dog than out there working trash cans for food like I was before they rescued me. But it would be really nice to have just one home with someone who loves me and understands what it means to be the alpha animal.

MDS: By now, Barley, most of our readers have heard of the rent-a-dog concept. Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Our readers are anxious to hear what it’s like to be a rent-a-dog.

So, Barley, start us out. What are your impressions of being a rent-a-dog?

Barley: Well, if it’s Tuesday, it must be Mr. Martin’s house. Most of the time I’m with my primary care person, but, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I’m with Mr. Martin. On Fridays I’m with Mrs. Thompson, and on Sundays I’m with Mr. and Mrs. Robinson. At least that’s how it’s been the last few weeks. They just added Mr. and Mrs. Robinson to my schedule.

MDS: So you have to adjust to their different life styles?

Barley: Yeah. My care person sleeps in ‘til about 8:00 every morning. But Mr. Martin gets up at 5:30 sharp and drags me out for a three-mile walk. It’s pretty tough sleeping until 8:00 one day and then dragging my doggie butt out of bed at 5:30 the next morning.

MDS: But you must like the three-mile walk with Mr. Martin.

Barley: I love it. We meet lots of people and other dogs. He has some really neat friends, and they have some really neat dogs. There’s this one Yellow Lab that I really like to play with, but he keeps asking me where I am the rest of the week. I’m really relaxed and calm after the walk with Mr. Martin. But Mrs. Thompson and the Robinsons don’t give me any exercise, so I just go nuts when I’m with them. And they wonder why I chew their furniture. Give me a break!

MDS: What are some of the other things that happen?

Barley: Well, I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but dogs are like wolves; they live by lots of “rules of the pack.” Mr. Martin seems to understand this. I totally look up to him as the alpha member of my pack. He really knows how to be an alpha leader. But Mrs. Thompson doesn’t have a clue. She lets me win all the time at tug-of-war. And when I jump up on her to test her a little, she just gets pissed off. She never puts me in my place. You’d be amazed at what I can get away with!

MDS: What else?

Barley: Well, the Robinsons love to have me sleep on their bed at night. When they go to bed, I jump up on this really cushy pillow-top mattress and snuggle right in between them. They just love it, and they give me lots of neat little scratches on my ear. So that’s on Sunday nights. But if I jump up on Mrs. Thompson’s bed, she kicks me half way across the room. Jerk!

MDS: Do you eat well?

Barley: Mrs. Thompson and the Robinsons feed me this holistic stuff, like they’re supposed to. But I’ve heard Mr. Martin say his vet recommends against it. So I’m confused. Mr. Martin lives pretty high on the hog, if you know what I mean. He eats premium filets almost every Tuesday night, and he gives me a few bites. Man, it doesn’t get any better than that. I wish the others weren’t so stingy with their people food.

MDS: How do your renters treat you?

Barley: I just have to keep them straight. Mr. Martin sends me out in the back yard to pee on the grass. But if I pee on Mrs. Robinson’s precious grass, she gets really pissed off. So…, if it’s Tuesday or Wednesday, it’s OK to pee on the grass. But on Sundays I have to pee on the street when the Robinsons take me out for little walks. Mrs. Thompson lives in an apartment, so she takes me out for a walk about every six hours.

MDS: Do your renters have other pets?

Barley: Yeah. That got me in big trouble once.

MDS: How so?

Barley: Well Mr. Martin worked with me, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, at retrieving a fake pheasant. I guess he used to do a lot of hunting, and he wants me to learn how to retrieve birds in the field. But the first day I was at the Robinsons, I saw this thing that looked like a pheasant on a stand on their kitchen table. So I jumped up on a chair and then on the table and “fetched” the damned thing. It turned out to be their pet parrot. I guess they got it away from me before I hurt it, but they were pretty upset. So Tuesdays and Wednesdays I can fetch birds, but no birds on Sunday. Sometimes my doggie brain starts to turn to mush trying to remember all this stuff.

MDS: Dear Reader, please see tomorrow’s edition of the My Doggie Says… blog for Part II of the interview with Barley, a rent-a-dog.

The My Doggie Says… blog is about improving your relationship with your dog by getting better at “listening” and communicating with your dog. The point of “My Doggie Says…Messages from Jamie. How a dog named Jamie ‘talks’ to her people” is that you can learn to be a better “dog listener” by observing your dog’s behavior. Then, you can do a better job of nurturing your dog and your relationship with your dog.

What kind of relationship can you expect to have with a pet? This seems like a pretty fair question to ask. After all, you’re probably not going to walk your dog down to the local pub, buy it a beer, and unload all the problems you’re having at work.

A relationship with a pet is different. You probably don’t discuss your personal problems with your pet. (Actually, it might be worth a try. Dogs learn a lot from our tone of voice, and your dog might relate to your emotional state.) But you might be surprised how tuned in your pet really is. I felt, at times, that Jamie could sense if I was upset about something. If she could see that I had a wound, like a scratch from some bushes on a hike, she would be quick to lick my wound. But it seemed to work at a more emotional level, too. These last few days, I’ve had a sore back, and I’m sure Callie senses something is wrong. She isn’t jumping up on me in her puppy enthusiasm as much as she usually does.

But here’s a story that makes you really wonder how smart, or at least sensitive, animals can be. It’s a story about a “hospice” cat that seems to know when patients are about to die. (“Cat Plays Furry Grim Reaper at Nursing Home“) When the cat snuggles up with nursing home patients, they die within about four hours. So far, the cat has been right twenty five times.

This story reminds us that we don’t completely understand how smart our pets can be. Who knows if this cat is “smart,” or if it is using some extreme sense of hearing, seeing, or smell? In any case, how the cat can sense that death is imminent is certainly a mystery to most of us.

So don’t assume that your dog is just another “dumb animal.” Remember that it hears and smells things that you don’t necessarily hear or smell. And it may sense emotions in ways that you don’t understand. Try to understand why it does the things it does, and you will find your relationship with you dog working a different level. Observe your dog’s behavior and try to figure out why it does the things it does.

You might be surprised!