At some point in the wee hours, I was summoned. Without fully waking, I replied, “You have your own door.” To which I heard some restlessness followed by the sound of the dog door opening and closing. Later I heard her come back in. Without opening my eyes, I didn’t know what time that was, but she was restless again early, letting me know that she wanted me to get up. I started wondering: was it the partial cup of dog food I gave her last night? Sometimes she feels left out when the terrier is fed. Did the dog food upset her GI tract? The weather has been a little cooler, which is inspiring for a Newf with less heat tolerance than most. Perhaps she was wanting to be outside to enjoy the cool morning and she wanted company. Within a short time, she used one of the tactics that was recently made off-limits to communicate her interest: she stepped on the trash can lever. This challenges her self-control, so after a couple of compromises, that one was nixed a few weeks ago. So how does a Newf communicate her interests, which appear somewhat urgent, to a human? She breaks the rule. So I ask, “Are you hungry?” She replies with a direct stare but no affirmation by eye blink.
Being a human less capable of Newfoundland communication, which I sometimes wonder is telepathic, my conclusion is that the dog food made her hungry and that she wants breakfast. I ask, “Do you want to eat breakfast before we go for a walk?” To this she affirms, but not with the usual emphasis that lets me know that I “got it”.
This meant that we would be going for our walk while the sun was fully up and bright. It would also mean that I would need to delay taking the van in for its appointment.
I got up, made breakfast, took care of a few tasks under careful supervision by a restless Newf, then we left. As we reached the park, there were barriers on the road to where we usually park. Looking around to see why, there were food trucks along the north side. Ahhhh. She did it again.
During the hot months of summer, July and August, she doesn’t seem to notice this monthly event, but the weather was cooler with a gentle breeze and it was Food Truck Friday! Now the reason for her extra excitement was clear. It still baffles me how she knows this. We had been at the park late in the afternoon yesterday, and there were no indications about what was coming. The wind would have to be blowing directly from the west to carry the aromas here. It is usually from the north or south, or blowing from the southwest, which would pass by. For Banner, the increased enthusiasm is for the combination of food and social activity. The indicator is probably the smell, with enough molecules of food aroma to signal her senses. In my 40 years of experience, Newfs have better than good scent abilities. They are also very interesting creatures to live with, curious, social and very smart. It is genuinely fascinating to watch how she engages with me and how she engages with other people. Their social skills and problem-solving skills rank with their scent abilities.
At this time in the morning, most of the trucks were still setting up, but Chuy’s Tacos was open, so we had an extra breakfast snack. The double soft corn wrapper is good for sharing, along with some of the carnitas. The thing to remember about Chuy’s is that the green sauce, not the red sauce, is the hot one.
And, at this time in the morning, there were no lines, but there were plenty of people curious about a Newf, so she had some good social interactions.
Pleasant Friday Wishes to All from The Bigfoot Club!
This morning, Banner was banished from the kitchen, again. She doesn’t like having her freedom of choice impaired. At first, she stayed outside the perimeter being cleaned. (I don’t know how she knows that precise point, except that she is regularly asked to stay out of the kitchen when the floors are being cleaned.) Later she moved into the room with Emily, being very offended as she always is about the use of floor cleaning tools. (“Why ya gotta do that?”)
Banner has been neither curious nor amused. She does not see this gadget as a threat. Emily, however, interprets any shadow or almost imperceptible sound as a threat and goes into full-throttle assault. (on my ears) At 6, she is beginning to slip, missing a couple of deliveries. The gadget is fairly quiet and unnoticeable except for the sound when solution is sprayed, and that isn’t bad either.
I’ve been watching this little self-navigating device for a week now. It covers the area well, and avoids obstacles surprisingly well. It’s a bit like a blind rodent in that it strikes surfaces then backs up and strikes them again. Clearly it is a trial-and-error learner, but while watching, it isn’t always easy to recognize where it will go next as it executes its algorithm. It moves forward in a branching Y pattern, first to one side, then it backs up and goes to the other side. After it completes an “area” by its definition, it may run back to a baseboard, then follow the baseboard closely around a perimeter, or it may drive across an area and start some points again. I’ve watched it navigate obstacles tightly such as legs on chairs, the curved base on the legs of a stationary bike, rugs and the edge to a step-in shower. It also responds to drop-off edges surprisingly well. It cleaned the bath floor without falling into the shower, and yesterday I watched it clean the edge of the first step to the basement stairwell, backing and moving forward. I decided it would be safe and turned my back, only to find it cleaning the top of the wood, which is about 3/8″ higher than the floor, a little later. But it did not fall onto the next step.
Watching it is like watching a toddler learn to walk. Some actions are predicable, others are curious. I can’t tell whether it is learning about the shape of the available floor or doing all trial-and-error navigation. It appears to have some memory, but that may be a deceptive incidental observation, except that it will park in the original spot if it doesn’t run out of battery. In any case, there is some level of entertainment, if not studious relaxation, just from observing.
So far, it hasn’t found a place to be stuck, even in tight fits. Before starting the mop, I move some things that are on the floor, like the desk chair, a rug or the guitar stand, onto a rug so it can use the battery more efficiently (with less wasted effort to navigate). I leave a navigation path for other things, like the kitchen trash can. For this house, built about 3 years ago, we used all hard surfaces and selected furniture that doesn’t harbor dust bunnies. After about 40 years with Newfs, I hope to have learned a thing or two, but you never quit learning. The loft floor is engineered wood (hickory) and the basement floor and dog room floor are finished concrete. The main floor is otherwise tile. We chose a tile pattern that was very light in overall color, and it was modeled after finished concrete, so there are color variations. It has a deco tile about every 8-10 squares. A couple of times I found the gadget circling, as if it perceived a color spot on the tile, which was actually part of the tile. Yesterday I cleaned the living room and entry floors. It is good for almost 2 hours of battery use, but the cleaning fluid will run out in-between times. I start by wetting the mop pad (not soaking it), and yesterday I sprayed an area on the tile while it was cleaning rather than stopping it. I’m not sure whether it would pick up where it left off once it is turned off to refill, and I didn’t want to restart the entire floor’s navigation. After a little while, I conceded and refilled the cleaning solution, and it didn’t go back over the entry floor.
Those floors were fairly clean, so I recharged the battery and restarted it in the kitchen. The kitchen floor was dirty, a real test. (I used it first in the bedroom, which was also a good test.) This tile has a glazed, honed surface. A finished concrete floor was originally planned, but apparently those don’t hold up well to big dog toenails, and some dyes/stains are toxic. The integrity of the main floor surface was especially important, to allow the surface to be sanitized, so a glazed floor was imperative, as was traction. The honing on the glazed surface provides very good traction, even when the tile is wet. The weak link for tile is always the grout. We used “Power” grout, which includes a urethane hardener, with epoxy grout in the shower. Our tile resource was certain that this would hold up, but even the epoxy grout at the lab gets dirty and needs special cleaning (although it is more easily cleaned), so. . . I didn’t hold my breath. And it hasn’t. After yesterday’s cleaning, using the same pad as the living room for a first pass, this morning I used the tile brush on a broom handle to do a quick clean-up before restarting the mop with a fresh pad, and I cleaned a drop of dried egg yolk that it probably would not remove. It is doing a nice job. For other floors, a quick vacuuming or sweeping is sufficient prep to keep hair from accumulating and being pushed around. I started it inside a corner of the kitchen cabinets, and it completed an area about 8′ x 20′, then it restarted inside the cabinet area and followed the baseboard and an invisible line across the open area and went back and forth in this area about three times in what appeared to be a random hit and miss cleaning. Next it ran back and forth across this area as if it were inspecting its work and looking for missed spots. Again, that may be too much assumption. So far, it gets the job done, with good coverage. The limitation is that it needs to be refilled at about 45 mins. There isn’t a sensor that shuts down the device when it is out of cleaning fluid, and if the battery runs out before it determines that it is “finished” and reparks, you may find it anywhere, like under a bed. If it parks, you will hear a musical notification that its battery needs to be recharged.
I generally prefer reusable materials, and there is a mop refill option that can be washed. I’ll also add an extra battery, to keep it running for longer periods of time.
As with any new product, your satisfaction will depend largely on your initial expectations. My expectations were for a maintenance level of support. I wanted some assist but plan to continue the heavy duty cleaning every so often, followed by a rinse mopping. This device fits my expectations and needs for basic support. Most of our floors are open, so I’ll set a timer, stop it and refill when I’m here, or not worry about it if I’m not. One reason I have been a holdout on the robotic vacuums and mops is that I don’t want a WiFi connected device that uses a camera and measures every inch of every room. This is the basic Braava which doesn’t use WiFi navigation, and reviews looked like it might work. Another was reservation about performance. And the worst reason was that an automated device might run over an “accident” and distribute it throughout the house. (If you haven’t seen one of these Youtube videos, you may not want to.) Now I’m thinking about giving up and getting the larger one that runs using a WiFi on a schedule and self-parks. Newfs are neatniks, after all; if they are in dire straits and no one is home to help, they look for a rug, and this device avoids rugs well.
VISUAL: The Bot met the rug head-on, as it did the chair, then chose a way to navigate:
We had another round of chill weather, enough to make a Newfoundland happy. The dog door opened and closed frequently. She was so excited that she didn’t know what to do with herself. She just knew that she wanted to be outside, soaking in as much as she could, with anticipation that was not yet clear to me. And after a while, after filling herself by absorbing the chill, she wanted to play. That cat, the one who is always with her, who won’t let her take care of business in peace, should have learned by now. She jumped down on her elbows, tail waving. He knew not to run. She did a nose thrust. He tried to stay still. She jumped up and swiped with her paw, her (to a cat) big, enormous paw with huge claws. He conceded that it was time for him to seek refuge, after issuing his objection.
Banner has begun making a sound that conveys a level of excitement and exuberance with rumblings of running out of patience for the fun to arrive. She can do this in a yawn or a bark. Your first reaction is, “What was that!?” But her expression is clear without translation.
And she is tuned-in to pre-Fridays! and Fridays! and Saturdays! Each week is like a long sine wave. The world should revolve around the Newfoundland calendar. But with the comings of warm weather, there has also been some glumness, as if the party is over, followed by brief episodes of chill, even with her favorite precipitation for two of those. Last night, there was a freeze. The humans were not ahead of schedule this year; there were no plants to cover or bring inside. After each indoor activity, like water, food, cookie, anything that may entice her to come back in, within an instant, as soon as you turned, the dog door would swing closed. I latched the door a couple of times, then she would wait for a short time and approach, leading me to ask whether she needed to go outside. Her answer was of course, “Yes!” (need to find a way to clarify this question) I finally decided that it would be her last trip, notified her that she should take care of business, then brought her back in and latched the door for the night. The cats probably went to bed without food in their dishes.
Yesterday, and most of last week, I had appointments that kept me away from the house, so I credited her higher than usual level of excitement to cabin fever, too many long boring days. When I got back yesterday evening, she went to the van and appeared to want to go to town. I decided to check with Greg one more time. He was working late, so I told her we would go on our own. She looks forward to weekends partly because we can all go together. Before I could leave, he texted that he was on his way. She had been blasting outside at any hope that the car had pulled into the drive. Finally, we were on our way to town for a walk. When we arrived, motivation for her enthusiasm was laid bare: it was Food Truck Friday! (That’s an even better Friday that comes once/month.) How does she know this?? We live about 2-3 miles to the east. The wind is usually from the north or the south. (This time it was definitely from the north.) People were so enthusiastic about the return of Food Truck Friday that parking was difficult. The chill didn’t keep people, or Banner, away.
The previous weekend had been the first Farmers’ Market weekend since last year, so maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise. The pretzel lady had been at the market, and they had a pretzel behind the counter without salt in anticipation of “the bear”. She was there again today, with an unsalted pretzel. Banner’s eyeballs were practically spinning. This lady knows how important the treat is to Banner, so she was kind enough to tell me that she wouldn’t be at the park next weekend.
The chill didn’t last long. Yesterday I had turned on the heat in the van, so I turned that off. It was still warm and wafting across my face. I turned off the fan. It was still warm. With 77 due tomorrow, the heat was already coming through the windshield. But Banner will probably enjoy another phase of cool weather or two before her gears downshift. And we will need to begin taking walks earlier in the morning. Even with the weather becoming warmer, there is a new source of enthusiasm: people and kids and dogs and food vendors and the musical ice cream truck are busy in the park again.
Like relatives before her, Banner is a little more animated than most Newfs. She is lit by social energy and interactions. And pretzels. Soon it will be too warm for her to walk and gait so enthusiastically, until she rounds the corner with the pretzel booth in smell range, with her memories tantalizing her before she can get her first bite!
If this were a puzzle clue, we wouldn’t need to call a lifeline for help.
I thought it would happen later today, but when Banner went outside this morning, her expression looked like someone who had been surprised with the sincerest, most caring gift possible, as if the sun rose at that moment and smiled all around her. There was a lovely blanket of snow, only a few inches deep, but it was as if she didn’t think she would encounter so much joy again, ever.
It has been a warm winter so far, and a couple of weeks ago I began running the fireplace because of a few very low nights. So, inside it has been warmer than she would prefer. There are cooler places to lie, but she wants to be near.
Today however, this girl, who is usually wherever I am, sometimes within half a step or less, sometimes lying nearby in a gentle snooze, is so enamored with the wonder that if I won’t join her, she will lie indulgently in the snow and watch and listen to her surroundings without me. The dog door is getting a workout. I hear it open and close occasionally, as she comes in to check on me, to show me the splendor by her expression and hope to entice me to join her. I get to share a taste of the joy by the cold wet face on my jeans. Within a short time, she is lying in the snow again, not distracted for a moment by any concern.
When she first went out, she ate as much as she could hold, but unlike her food dish, there is no stopping point. And speaking of dinner, there is a smell that is beginning to reprioritize her interests, with some conflict. Should she trust me to supervise myself in the kitchen?
She has laid down near me again for a while, and all of the snow that had accumulated on top and all that stuck on the bottom is now very wet. Since the humidifier isn’t keeping up, that won’t last long. And her being inside won’t last long either.
Hoping that all Newfs in the snow zone are enjoying their Saturday. And that all of their humans are tucked in warmly tonight.
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