The other day a flash of insight came upon me regarding my dog.
It ran something like this....
Sally is a Great Pyrenees Guard dog.
She does not really know this, she just knows she exists.
But she cannot escape her heredity.
Genetically, she is programmed to behave in certain ways that are, to a degree, unique to her breed.
As a guard dog, she needs something/someone to guard.
It is in her unconscious makeup to find/define the limits of her territory and to supervise activity within that area.
Although I am her companion, and she recognizes me as such, I am also that which she feels compelled to guard/protect.
I am her herd – in the absence of a real heard of animals.
This understanding displays itself mostly in our walks around the neighborhood.
Lately, I have let Sally decide which of two basic routes we are to go.
She has settled into a path and pattern on both routes and she visits the same spots.
She seldom, if ever, tries to deviate from the path she has established.
She seems to alternate each path from day to day; which I find interesting.
She remembers which path she took the previous walk.
And to my surprise, she has rather quickly learned the “wait” command at each street crossing.
Lately, she has occasionally stopped at a street and sat down for a moment waiting for me to give the command “okay” to proceed.
Otherwise, she will stop at a street when I say “wait”.
Sometimes she is less focused on my commands and timing (how long to “wait”) but she is doing very well given the vague circumstances for the command (crossing a street).
She keeps the distance to about a mile out and back, and the time to about 45 minutes to an hour.
Last Friday was an exception.
It was the first walk in the morning we had done in four days and she was ready to get out of the yard.
When we finished her southern loop she turned and started on her northern loop.
She was well behaved and although we did some running, she was not agitated or “frantic” in her explorations.
In fact, she was quite well behaved.
When she sees or hears another dog or people, she usually stops and sniffs and looks.
I stop also and take the tension off the leash and let her satisfy her curiosity.
It only takes a few seconds (10-20?) and then she moves on.
Sometimes she stops again and re-examines the point of interest again.
Occasionally, she will stop three or four times before moving on.
Sometimes she wants to go in for a closer sniff, if it is people I let her get closer if they are on or near the sidewalk.
If not, I hold her back.
The same goes for other animals – sometimes I let her go for a closer sniff, sometimes not.
I do not allow her to invade other people's property without their permission.
Sometimes we run.
It is usually in short spurts of 100 feet or so, then she must stop and sniff something for a few seconds.
Then off we go again.
She is the one who initiates the runs, usually.
But I don't mind letting her run.
After all, this is HER walk, and one of the purposes is to allow HER to get some exercise, especially that which she cannot get within the confines of her yard.
And being a runner, how could I deny the benefits of this activity to someone?
Or some doggy?
So we run.
And when she is done, she is ready to return to her yard.
I do not have to coax her to go home when she has run her loops.
Saturday, in spite of the biting cold and wind, I loaded Sally into my car and we drove to the nearby park where we have walked before.
We owned the park.
No one was there but us.
As is usual, we started out on the nice, paved walking/running path but Sally soon wanted to examine the perimeter of the area.
So we went off the paved path and she sniffed the fence line around the west half of the park.
My only correctional input was that she stay out of the mud in one area.
Which she complied with.
Although I did provide some limits on how far she could go near the main highway and large city river, she pretty much had her way.
And when she was done – 30 minutes later – she was ready to get into the car.
In fact, when we went walking on Sunday afternoon after church, she sought to get into the car.
I do not know what she had in mind as to a destination, but it was clear that she wanted to go for a ride.
I dissuaded her and she went into the back yard without further protest.
My point?
Simply that she enjoys the walks with me and also it allows her to be a guard dog to me.
She needs to have a job to do.
She needs to have THIS job to do.
She needs to fulfill the inbred function of defending or watching for possible threats to me (and herself).
The RUN
Saturday was my first run in two weeks.
My work schedule has cut into my exercise time such that I have neither walked nor worked out in two weeks. (I did walk my dog almost every evening)
Anyway, there was some concern about my strength for the full 4 mile jaunt.
Also, it was 25 degrees with a lovely 20 MPH wind that had the windchill factor in the single digits.
This allowed me to try my new terrorist mask.
It is a long, knit watch cap that completely covered my head and neck, with holes for eyes and mouth.
It proved to be ideal for the situation.
In mile two I took off my wool mittens and held them in my hands.
Just holding them was enough insulation to keep my hands warm in the 8 degree breeze.
I also had to unzip my wind layer and the knit layer underneath as I was generating more heat than my top would allow to escape when closed.
All in all, I was quite comfortable given the nasty environment in the pre-dawn morning.
I took my time and just pounded along trying to be careful so that I did not break anything.
And, as has been the case for the last couple of runs, I found myself daydreaming about this and that as I bopped along.
There was nary a pain or whimper from joint or connector anywhere on me.
When I got back to my car, though, I was ready to stop.
I did not feel tired in the bad sense.
There was no struggle or argument with Running Central about whether to continue or not.
It was a good run.
A great run.
In two months I will turn 67 years old. (assuming I do not drop dead within those 60 days...)
I find that hard to believe sometimes.
Running has been a wonderful privilege for me and I am delighted and amazed that I am able to do it at my age.
I have been running off and on for eleven years, now.
As I have said before, if someone had told me in high school that I would be running 4 miles once a week when I was 66 years old, I would have told them they were nuts.
But here I am.
I feel very blessed.
.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Random News n Thots
Random News
I have been working long hours this week.
Hours so long, that I have had no time for exercising or walking.
I have done my best to make time to walk Sally the Lint Pile as many evenings as possible.
Last night I squeezed a walk in between dinner and church.
Tonight we walked after doing the dinner dishes.
She waited patiently at the back door twice to be let out to do her biological business in the back yard.
A
She earned a D in her play biting.
Honestly she is doing better with her biting, but she still has a problem when she gets excited when she is in the house with me.
She likes to jump up on me and/or hang her incisor teeth in my jeans, or shirt sleeves, or arms/hands.
I get weary patiently telling her no every five seconds for thirty minutes.
Finally I just snap and grab her by the neck and pull her to the floor.
Sometimes I swat her snout but I do not like to do that because I do not want her to become hand shy.
But constant jumping and biting is maddening.
She also has developed a habit of jumping up on the kitchen counters to see/sniff what is going on up there.
Again I try to calmly tell her 800 times in a row to get down, calmly push her away/down from the counter, and tend to the business at hand on the counter (fixing her dinner, my dinner, washing the dishes, etc.)
If she was older and less excited, I might tolerate a bit more of such behavior, but now she is too jumping and undisciplined.
To balance this bothersome behavior is her more calm moments.
She lets me pet/rub her neck, shoulders, chest, tummy, and hips without biting me.
It is clear to me that she is trying to respond to my petting without biting me.
She just does not quite know how yet.
When I eat at the table, she often sits quietly at my feet or next to me waiting for me to toss her a crumb.
Sometimes she lays on the floor at my feet.
Occasionally she will nudge me with her nose to be sure I know that she is here.
I do not mind this subtle action and find it endearing.
Sally was especially well behaved this evening on her walk.
She did very little tugging on the leash, responded to my most subtle tugs on her leash, waited at each curb on command (“wait”) before crossing (“okay”) each street (except when I forgot to give the command...) and generally acted rather mature.
A NEW DEVELOPMENT
I was sweeping the kitchen floor this past week and discovered something new.
There among the bits of dog food and leaves from the back yard were some long, wispy fibers of white hair.
They were not mine.
So, Sally's coat has begun to mature from her puppy fur to her dual layer winter mountain coat.
Soon it will be time to comb/brush her.
I may try this weekend, though the weather persons are talking of cold temperatures and snow flurries.
Sally will love it.
It seems that I will have to run Saturday morning in 20+ degree coldness.
Where is July when you need her.
.
I have been working long hours this week.
Hours so long, that I have had no time for exercising or walking.
I have done my best to make time to walk Sally the Lint Pile as many evenings as possible.
Last night I squeezed a walk in between dinner and church.
Tonight we walked after doing the dinner dishes.
She waited patiently at the back door twice to be let out to do her biological business in the back yard.
A
She earned a D in her play biting.
Honestly she is doing better with her biting, but she still has a problem when she gets excited when she is in the house with me.
She likes to jump up on me and/or hang her incisor teeth in my jeans, or shirt sleeves, or arms/hands.
I get weary patiently telling her no every five seconds for thirty minutes.
Finally I just snap and grab her by the neck and pull her to the floor.
Sometimes I swat her snout but I do not like to do that because I do not want her to become hand shy.
But constant jumping and biting is maddening.
She also has developed a habit of jumping up on the kitchen counters to see/sniff what is going on up there.
Again I try to calmly tell her 800 times in a row to get down, calmly push her away/down from the counter, and tend to the business at hand on the counter (fixing her dinner, my dinner, washing the dishes, etc.)
If she was older and less excited, I might tolerate a bit more of such behavior, but now she is too jumping and undisciplined.
To balance this bothersome behavior is her more calm moments.
She lets me pet/rub her neck, shoulders, chest, tummy, and hips without biting me.
It is clear to me that she is trying to respond to my petting without biting me.
She just does not quite know how yet.
When I eat at the table, she often sits quietly at my feet or next to me waiting for me to toss her a crumb.
Sometimes she lays on the floor at my feet.
Occasionally she will nudge me with her nose to be sure I know that she is here.
I do not mind this subtle action and find it endearing.
Sally was especially well behaved this evening on her walk.
She did very little tugging on the leash, responded to my most subtle tugs on her leash, waited at each curb on command (“wait”) before crossing (“okay”) each street (except when I forgot to give the command...) and generally acted rather mature.
A NEW DEVELOPMENT
I was sweeping the kitchen floor this past week and discovered something new.
There among the bits of dog food and leaves from the back yard were some long, wispy fibers of white hair.
They were not mine.
So, Sally's coat has begun to mature from her puppy fur to her dual layer winter mountain coat.
Soon it will be time to comb/brush her.
I may try this weekend, though the weather persons are talking of cold temperatures and snow flurries.
Sally will love it.
It seems that I will have to run Saturday morning in 20+ degree coldness.
Where is July when you need her.
.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Of Sally and Not Running
OWNER HEART FAILURE
While walking Sally the Dog Friday evening after work, the event happened that I have dreaded since I started walking her – I dropped the leash.
I was in the process of moving the leash from one hand to the other when she made a quick little lunge to some item of nasal interest on the grass of a neighbor's yard.
Her move jerked the leash out of my hands and I feared I had lost her.
In fact, she only trotted about 10 feet away from me, whereupon I picked up the leash loop again and my heart rate slowly receded to its normal rate.
She may not have even realized that she was not restrained, she was busy sniffing.
I have observed that many dogs do not stray far from their human companions, even when off a leash, IF the dog is used to walking with said person.
My sister's dog never went farther than a few dozen yards from us when allowed to run free in a school yard.
As I have stated, my greatest fear is that Sally will charge into the street in front of a car because she has no fear/understanding of them.
Anyway, the rest of the walk went generality well.
THE DOG HOUSE
Today it was rainy off and on all day.
Sally and I did manage to get in a good 45 minute walk in-between drizzles.
But we had to spend most of the day indoors.
I am sure that it is gratifying to architects and contractors when the structures they have created are finished and provide space and service to people, as intended.
So it was today when I looked out my back door and saw Sally the Dog laying in her dog house while it rained.
In fact, she went into and out of her house several times today.
Sometimes she played in it and other times she slept in it.
I felt gratified.
And I am certain that her days under the utility building are numbered.
THE SATURDAY RUN
… was cancelled because I am sick.
I have a mild cold that is just strong enough to sap my strength a bit and stuff up my nose (mostly in the morning).
I have a very slight fever and a very slight sore throat.
All of this has not taken me down to a bed-ridden state, just a bit lazy and grumpy.
So... I may run tomorrow morning (Sunday).
I will see how I feel.
My extended work schedule has forced me to cancel my morning workouts and walks so I am slightly weaker than I normally would be.
That may affect my running, also.
I have run and worked out when sick before and most of the time, other than being weaker, I have suffered no ill effects.
I will see how I feel tomorrow morning at 5 AM.
SALLY AND THE BACK DOOR
Sally is, in people years, nearly in her “terrible twos” - 13 weeks = 91 human weeks = almost two years.
And she is acting like it.
In some ways she is doing better – like house training (sometimes) and play-biting (sometimes).
But she is developing new bad habits – like jumping up on my lap, table and kitchen counters to see/sniff what is going on up there.
And she takes samples of whatever she can reach if I do not dissuade her quickly enough.
I tell her to get down and she generally responds, but the compliance is usually short-lived.
And up she comes again; often in a different spot.
Today she was particularly obnoxious.
Wanting to play with me and nipping at my pants, feet and hands.
I could not get her to stop so I sent her outside.
Upon closing the back door I resumed my dishwashing chores.
About a minute later I hear a faint noise in the back room and then Sally the Dog trots into my kitchen.
I am both astounded and scared.
Astounded because she got into the house by herself.
Scared because I was afraid she had broken the window in my back door.
The good news was she did not break the glass – the door was standing open.
The bad news was she got back in.
At the time, my only conclusion about how she did it was that I had not fully latched the door and she just pushed it open.
This evening, she was mis-behaving again (wanting to play and bite) and I, again, sent her outside after she had eaten her dinner.
This time I was in my bedroom (here) at my desk when I heard a faint sound from the back room and a moment later, Sally appears in my room.
She seemed pleased with herself and hopeful that I was pleased to see her.
That was not the case.
And I was concerned about my back door.
Upon inspection I figured out how she was getting in.
My back door is a “French door”.
As such it does not have a common round door knob, but, rather, a lever.
Inside and outside.
Apparently, Sally has learned the raise up on her hind legs and pull the outside lever down enough with her front paws to unlatch the door and nose her way into the house.
In both cases today, I had failed to engage the dead bolt.
Doing so solves the problem.
Sometimes I do not like having a smart dog.
While walking Sally the Dog Friday evening after work, the event happened that I have dreaded since I started walking her – I dropped the leash.
I was in the process of moving the leash from one hand to the other when she made a quick little lunge to some item of nasal interest on the grass of a neighbor's yard.
Her move jerked the leash out of my hands and I feared I had lost her.
In fact, she only trotted about 10 feet away from me, whereupon I picked up the leash loop again and my heart rate slowly receded to its normal rate.
She may not have even realized that she was not restrained, she was busy sniffing.
I have observed that many dogs do not stray far from their human companions, even when off a leash, IF the dog is used to walking with said person.
My sister's dog never went farther than a few dozen yards from us when allowed to run free in a school yard.
As I have stated, my greatest fear is that Sally will charge into the street in front of a car because she has no fear/understanding of them.
Anyway, the rest of the walk went generality well.
THE DOG HOUSE
Today it was rainy off and on all day.
Sally and I did manage to get in a good 45 minute walk in-between drizzles.
But we had to spend most of the day indoors.
I am sure that it is gratifying to architects and contractors when the structures they have created are finished and provide space and service to people, as intended.
So it was today when I looked out my back door and saw Sally the Dog laying in her dog house while it rained.
In fact, she went into and out of her house several times today.
Sometimes she played in it and other times she slept in it.
I felt gratified.
And I am certain that her days under the utility building are numbered.
THE SATURDAY RUN
… was cancelled because I am sick.
I have a mild cold that is just strong enough to sap my strength a bit and stuff up my nose (mostly in the morning).
I have a very slight fever and a very slight sore throat.
All of this has not taken me down to a bed-ridden state, just a bit lazy and grumpy.
So... I may run tomorrow morning (Sunday).
I will see how I feel.
My extended work schedule has forced me to cancel my morning workouts and walks so I am slightly weaker than I normally would be.
That may affect my running, also.
I have run and worked out when sick before and most of the time, other than being weaker, I have suffered no ill effects.
I will see how I feel tomorrow morning at 5 AM.
SALLY AND THE BACK DOOR
Sally is, in people years, nearly in her “terrible twos” - 13 weeks = 91 human weeks = almost two years.
And she is acting like it.
In some ways she is doing better – like house training (sometimes) and play-biting (sometimes).
But she is developing new bad habits – like jumping up on my lap, table and kitchen counters to see/sniff what is going on up there.
And she takes samples of whatever she can reach if I do not dissuade her quickly enough.
I tell her to get down and she generally responds, but the compliance is usually short-lived.
And up she comes again; often in a different spot.
Today she was particularly obnoxious.
Wanting to play with me and nipping at my pants, feet and hands.
I could not get her to stop so I sent her outside.
Upon closing the back door I resumed my dishwashing chores.
About a minute later I hear a faint noise in the back room and then Sally the Dog trots into my kitchen.
I am both astounded and scared.
Astounded because she got into the house by herself.
Scared because I was afraid she had broken the window in my back door.
The good news was she did not break the glass – the door was standing open.
The bad news was she got back in.
At the time, my only conclusion about how she did it was that I had not fully latched the door and she just pushed it open.
This evening, she was mis-behaving again (wanting to play and bite) and I, again, sent her outside after she had eaten her dinner.
This time I was in my bedroom (here) at my desk when I heard a faint sound from the back room and a moment later, Sally appears in my room.
She seemed pleased with herself and hopeful that I was pleased to see her.
That was not the case.
And I was concerned about my back door.
Upon inspection I figured out how she was getting in.
My back door is a “French door”.
As such it does not have a common round door knob, but, rather, a lever.
Inside and outside.
Apparently, Sally has learned the raise up on her hind legs and pull the outside lever down enough with her front paws to unlatch the door and nose her way into the house.
In both cases today, I had failed to engage the dead bolt.
Doing so solves the problem.
Sometimes I do not like having a smart dog.
Monday, January 30, 2012
This and That
On my way home from church Sunday afternoon, I passed a car going my direction that had a Great Pyrenees dog in it.
The car was a Honda Civic, about the same year as mine, but a 4-door version.
The dog was standing in/on the back seat and he took up the whole car.
His shoulders nearly touched the roof.
His tail dusted the right side window and his big black nose bumped against the left side window.
The lady driver had installed some wire bars behind the front seats so a big snoot could not intrude and distract the driver.
That dog was really big.
I do not believe that Sally will get that big, but I have already been pondering how to transport her when she becomes full-grown.
Sally
Sunday was a bad day for Sally the Dog.
While she was generally well behaved regarding biting and jumping around, she failed her potty training - TWICE.
Each time, she was let out of the house not to be allowed in until the next meal.
I do not know what got into her to fail so badly, but she did.
As a result, I go through mental cycles of loving my dog and wanting to get rid of her.
It is tiring to try to train her ALL THE TIME.
I want to love her and spoil her in some ways and have her lying around to just observe me (like she did when I was working on her dog house) like Woof did when he was alive and we lived together.
But Sally is still too much a puppy.
Needing to chew something almost constantly and wanting to play biting games.
It is clear that she still is testing me to see who is the alpha/leader.
I have news for her - I control the food.
Everything else is secondary.
I have basically given her the yard to guard.
Right now it is the back yard, mainly.
But I have wondered if, after she matures in a year or two, to allow her to spend time with me in the front yard off her leash.
Technically that is illegal in the city, but once she gets settled down and trained on what/where is her territory (which I think she understands already), she will likely not roam too far from me.
I base this on how she behaves in the dog park.
While she runs around and chases the other dogs, she rarely goes farther than about 50 feet from me.
I noticed my sister's dog do a similar thing when she let her loose in a fenced school yard.
The dog ran about 100 feet away from us, stopped and looked at us and then charged back to where we were.
From then on she circled around us never farther than about 30 feet or so.
Sally takes spells of being bratty from one moment to the next.
While walking in the neighborhood on the leash, she will ignore my gentle tugs on the lease to move on from sniffing some disgusting morsel she has discovered.
But I can whisper her name and she will respond, with no tugging on the tether required.
My concern is that Sally has no fear of cars yet.
She occasionally tries to chase them, but I restrain her from this.
I am also trying to teach her to wait before crossing any street.
She sort of gets this, but is not consistently good at it yet.
And sometimes her trainer forgets to enforce the "wait" ritual before giving the "okay".
Come back in a year to see how we are doing.
Dinner tonight was steamed chicken breast and pork and beans, of which Sally the Dog received small portions and some of the flavored juices mingled with her kibble dog food.
She seemed pleased.
.
The car was a Honda Civic, about the same year as mine, but a 4-door version.
The dog was standing in/on the back seat and he took up the whole car.
His shoulders nearly touched the roof.
His tail dusted the right side window and his big black nose bumped against the left side window.
The lady driver had installed some wire bars behind the front seats so a big snoot could not intrude and distract the driver.
That dog was really big.
I do not believe that Sally will get that big, but I have already been pondering how to transport her when she becomes full-grown.
Sally
Sunday was a bad day for Sally the Dog.
While she was generally well behaved regarding biting and jumping around, she failed her potty training - TWICE.
Each time, she was let out of the house not to be allowed in until the next meal.
I do not know what got into her to fail so badly, but she did.
As a result, I go through mental cycles of loving my dog and wanting to get rid of her.
It is tiring to try to train her ALL THE TIME.
I want to love her and spoil her in some ways and have her lying around to just observe me (like she did when I was working on her dog house) like Woof did when he was alive and we lived together.
But Sally is still too much a puppy.
Needing to chew something almost constantly and wanting to play biting games.
It is clear that she still is testing me to see who is the alpha/leader.
I have news for her - I control the food.
Everything else is secondary.
I have basically given her the yard to guard.
Right now it is the back yard, mainly.
But I have wondered if, after she matures in a year or two, to allow her to spend time with me in the front yard off her leash.
Technically that is illegal in the city, but once she gets settled down and trained on what/where is her territory (which I think she understands already), she will likely not roam too far from me.
I base this on how she behaves in the dog park.
While she runs around and chases the other dogs, she rarely goes farther than about 50 feet from me.
I noticed my sister's dog do a similar thing when she let her loose in a fenced school yard.
The dog ran about 100 feet away from us, stopped and looked at us and then charged back to where we were.
From then on she circled around us never farther than about 30 feet or so.
Sally takes spells of being bratty from one moment to the next.
While walking in the neighborhood on the leash, she will ignore my gentle tugs on the lease to move on from sniffing some disgusting morsel she has discovered.
But I can whisper her name and she will respond, with no tugging on the tether required.
My concern is that Sally has no fear of cars yet.
She occasionally tries to chase them, but I restrain her from this.
I am also trying to teach her to wait before crossing any street.
She sort of gets this, but is not consistently good at it yet.
And sometimes her trainer forgets to enforce the "wait" ritual before giving the "okay".
Come back in a year to see how we are doing.
Dinner tonight was steamed chicken breast and pork and beans, of which Sally the Dog received small portions and some of the flavored juices mingled with her kibble dog food.
She seemed pleased.
.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
A BUSY SATURDAY
The Run
It has been a busy week at work and I was looking forward to a good detox session Saturday morning.
Rain or shine or snow or whatever, I was going to run.
My outside meter said that it was 37 degrees this morning at about 5:30 so the weatherperson got it about right.
I set out with two layers on legs and top, wool mittens and my trusty fleece ear cover.
From the first step, my right foot/ankle served notice that things would go its way or not at all.
A pain somewhere on the top of my right foot just in front of where my leg attachments connect was loud and insistent.
After a few steps, I found that if I came down on my heel a bit more and allowed my leg to rotate forward a bit more, foot pain went away.
Not sure why the problem was there but it was a my-way-or no-highway kind of deal.
So I went along with the requirement.
And after a quarter of a mile or so, we made our peace for the rest of the journey.
It was a good session.
Although I felt just a bit weak, I encountered no need to stop.
I spent most of the time daydreaming – a good sign.
Other than the lady runner I saw just before I parked my car, and a guy coming down Bankhead Parkway with his dog as I was going up, I had the road to myself.
That is, until I started down Bankhead during that last part.
As many as 50 cars came up Bankhead in groups of three or six.
At first I was perplexed at the unusual amount of traffic at this time of day, then I remembered: today must be the day of the Mountain Mist 50 mile trail race.
That pretty much kept me from running on the road for the rest of the party.
But all in all, it was a great run.
On the drive home, Jesus lit up the deck of clouds above the city and painted the eastern half of them in various shades of red and purple and everything in between.
I arrived home at 6:45.
The Dog Frolic
[Some background – we had a two-day rain here that soaked everything (duh) including Sally the Dog.
Since she still thinks she can slither under my utility shed, she was pretty well white and brown Thursday evening when I arrived home from work.
So I gave her her second bath.
This session included her new tub mat so there was no slipping and sliding around like the first time.
She did better this time, though she did try to escape the tub once.
But she was happy to be finished, I could tell, as I dried her off with her towels.
End of background.]
As I came in from my run, I decided to take Sally to the dog park after I went shopping.
And thus, it was so.
Sally, in just her fourth or fifth car trip, sat up in the shotgun seat and watched the excitement with me.
There was very little gnawing and bothersomeness while we drove.
When we arrived at the dog park, the recent rains and turned much of it into a mud pit.
But there were a few brave humans and their furry friends romping around and so I turned Sally loose for the festivities.
We went to the Big Dog section first and there soon arrived a couple of older dominant dogs that literally ran over Sally multiple times.
And while she tried to run and play with them, the older dogs ruled the area.
And in the process, Sally lost her just-bathed look.
So after 15 or 20 minutes of the rough and dirty stuff, I took Sally to the Small Dog area, that was mostly grass.
There was just one young dog in the Small Dog area and they made quick introductions and then proceeded to play.
Finally, Sally found someone she could play bite with.
And they went at it for, perhaps, 15 minutes while I chatted with the nice folks who owned the other dog.
While we chatted, other dogs and people arrived, but they all went to the Big Dog area.
There will be a lot of dog baths today.
Sally and Cathy – the other puppy – ran and rolled and jumped with wild abandon, all within about 20 feet of we people.
Finally, I could tell Sally was pooped, though she would not admit it.
I leashed her, bid farewell to the nice people and we headed to our car.
But Sally, in her intense playing, had neglected some biological imperitives.
So she was reluctant to enter the car (which she would normally do, now, without hesitation).
We walked and sniffed (well, she sniffed...) for a minute or two until a suitable spot was located.
Finally, with all the biology tended to, we got in the car and drove home.
My estimation of Sally's energy level proved accurate.
She could not even sit up on the car seat.
Instead, she lay on the floor with her nose between the front of the seat and the center console.
One dog pancake, coming right up.
When we got home, I let her loose in the back yard while I prepared the bathroom for another doggy bath.
I let her in and put her in the tub and we did it all again.
Sally did well and allowed me to wash her legs and chest.
Finally, I lifted her out of the wetness and we dried off.
Interestingly, Sally does not shake herself right away, as some dogs do.
She lets me dry her with a towel for a minute or two before she gives herself a finishing fluff.
Her fur is very thick and dense and holds a LOT of water.
(It takes a gallon or two of water just to get her completely wet to the skin)
So, I can dry her with two large towels, getting them rather wet, and Sally will still be damp.
So her final drying will be an air dry where I rub and fluff her fur.
Of course, then she is ready to play.
But today, she was trashed.
She was ready to lay down and sleep.
Dog House 1.1
An Engineering Change Order had been issued for Sally Manor.
It seems that the tall door-way allowed too much blowing rain to enter the cozy interior of the dog box, so changes were planned.
This being winter, opportunities for outside dog house modifications are rare.
But today was/is a beautiful day for this area, for this time of year (last year at this time it had already snowed 5 times.).
It is clear (the morning clouds have drifted off) with a 10 MPH breeze and about 53 degrees.
The Design change involves adding 10-inch vertical extensions to each side of her door-way, and a new 12 inch roof addition over the door.
The expectation is that the vertical extensions will disrupt the air flow around the door-way to limit the intrusion of blowing rain into the house from the sides, and the roof addition will stop falling rain from entering the house through the 32-inch tall door-way.
Hopefully, these changes will help keep the interior dryer for the pooch.
This has become more important because her days of fitting under the utility building are numbered.
In another month she may not fit under there at all.
Thus, the dog house will really become her only place of protection from the rain/wind.
All in all, it has become a rather successful day.
It has been a busy week at work and I was looking forward to a good detox session Saturday morning.
Rain or shine or snow or whatever, I was going to run.
My outside meter said that it was 37 degrees this morning at about 5:30 so the weatherperson got it about right.
I set out with two layers on legs and top, wool mittens and my trusty fleece ear cover.
From the first step, my right foot/ankle served notice that things would go its way or not at all.
A pain somewhere on the top of my right foot just in front of where my leg attachments connect was loud and insistent.
After a few steps, I found that if I came down on my heel a bit more and allowed my leg to rotate forward a bit more, foot pain went away.
Not sure why the problem was there but it was a my-way-or no-highway kind of deal.
So I went along with the requirement.
And after a quarter of a mile or so, we made our peace for the rest of the journey.
It was a good session.
Although I felt just a bit weak, I encountered no need to stop.
I spent most of the time daydreaming – a good sign.
Other than the lady runner I saw just before I parked my car, and a guy coming down Bankhead Parkway with his dog as I was going up, I had the road to myself.
That is, until I started down Bankhead during that last part.
As many as 50 cars came up Bankhead in groups of three or six.
At first I was perplexed at the unusual amount of traffic at this time of day, then I remembered: today must be the day of the Mountain Mist 50 mile trail race.
That pretty much kept me from running on the road for the rest of the party.
But all in all, it was a great run.
On the drive home, Jesus lit up the deck of clouds above the city and painted the eastern half of them in various shades of red and purple and everything in between.
I arrived home at 6:45.
The Dog Frolic
[Some background – we had a two-day rain here that soaked everything (duh) including Sally the Dog.
Since she still thinks she can slither under my utility shed, she was pretty well white and brown Thursday evening when I arrived home from work.
So I gave her her second bath.
This session included her new tub mat so there was no slipping and sliding around like the first time.
She did better this time, though she did try to escape the tub once.
But she was happy to be finished, I could tell, as I dried her off with her towels.
End of background.]
As I came in from my run, I decided to take Sally to the dog park after I went shopping.
And thus, it was so.
Sally, in just her fourth or fifth car trip, sat up in the shotgun seat and watched the excitement with me.
There was very little gnawing and bothersomeness while we drove.
When we arrived at the dog park, the recent rains and turned much of it into a mud pit.
But there were a few brave humans and their furry friends romping around and so I turned Sally loose for the festivities.
We went to the Big Dog section first and there soon arrived a couple of older dominant dogs that literally ran over Sally multiple times.
And while she tried to run and play with them, the older dogs ruled the area.
And in the process, Sally lost her just-bathed look.
So after 15 or 20 minutes of the rough and dirty stuff, I took Sally to the Small Dog area, that was mostly grass.
There was just one young dog in the Small Dog area and they made quick introductions and then proceeded to play.
Finally, Sally found someone she could play bite with.
And they went at it for, perhaps, 15 minutes while I chatted with the nice folks who owned the other dog.
While we chatted, other dogs and people arrived, but they all went to the Big Dog area.
There will be a lot of dog baths today.
Sally and Cathy – the other puppy – ran and rolled and jumped with wild abandon, all within about 20 feet of we people.
Finally, I could tell Sally was pooped, though she would not admit it.
I leashed her, bid farewell to the nice people and we headed to our car.
But Sally, in her intense playing, had neglected some biological imperitives.
So she was reluctant to enter the car (which she would normally do, now, without hesitation).
We walked and sniffed (well, she sniffed...) for a minute or two until a suitable spot was located.
Finally, with all the biology tended to, we got in the car and drove home.
My estimation of Sally's energy level proved accurate.
She could not even sit up on the car seat.
Instead, she lay on the floor with her nose between the front of the seat and the center console.
One dog pancake, coming right up.
When we got home, I let her loose in the back yard while I prepared the bathroom for another doggy bath.
I let her in and put her in the tub and we did it all again.
Sally did well and allowed me to wash her legs and chest.
Finally, I lifted her out of the wetness and we dried off.
Interestingly, Sally does not shake herself right away, as some dogs do.
She lets me dry her with a towel for a minute or two before she gives herself a finishing fluff.
Her fur is very thick and dense and holds a LOT of water.
(It takes a gallon or two of water just to get her completely wet to the skin)
So, I can dry her with two large towels, getting them rather wet, and Sally will still be damp.
So her final drying will be an air dry where I rub and fluff her fur.
Of course, then she is ready to play.
But today, she was trashed.
She was ready to lay down and sleep.
Dog House 1.1
An Engineering Change Order had been issued for Sally Manor.
It seems that the tall door-way allowed too much blowing rain to enter the cozy interior of the dog box, so changes were planned.
This being winter, opportunities for outside dog house modifications are rare.
But today was/is a beautiful day for this area, for this time of year (last year at this time it had already snowed 5 times.).
It is clear (the morning clouds have drifted off) with a 10 MPH breeze and about 53 degrees.
The Design change involves adding 10-inch vertical extensions to each side of her door-way, and a new 12 inch roof addition over the door.
The expectation is that the vertical extensions will disrupt the air flow around the door-way to limit the intrusion of blowing rain into the house from the sides, and the roof addition will stop falling rain from entering the house through the 32-inch tall door-way.
Hopefully, these changes will help keep the interior dryer for the pooch.
This has become more important because her days of fitting under the utility building are numbered.
In another month she may not fit under there at all.
Thus, the dog house will really become her only place of protection from the rain/wind.
All in all, it has become a rather successful day.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
SALLY THE BRILLIANT WONDERFUL INTELLIGENT DOG
The space aliens must have performed a brain transplant on my pitifully incontinent dog over night.
Today is Saturday.
Normally I run before dawn on Saturdays but today a lovely thunderstorm arrived exactly at the time that I would be out doing my run.
Since lightening is sometimes fatal, I stayed snuggled in the Royal Bed until 6:30.
I will run tomorrow morning.
The temperature will be half of what it was today but there will be no chance for any electric zaps.
Two big events took place that past week since my last post.
1 While throwing away a can in my recycle bin, which I keep outside next to my back porch, Sally escaped through the slightly open door and hopped out onto the drive way, as if ready for her morning walk.
I was nowhere near ready for a walk (no leash, nothing).
I have lived in dread of Sally getting out and running off, ignoring my calls and ultimately getting smushed under a big car.
Terrified, I watched as she jumped from the porch to the driveway.
But instead of heading off down the driveway to the street, she stopped, turned around and looked at me.
I invited her back into the house, and to my great relief and surprise, she jumped up on the porch and came the house again.
I almost passed out.
2 Then one evening as Sally and I were eating/cleaning up, Sally went into the back room.
Lately, she goes in there for two reasons – 1, to play with her toys in there, or, 2, to tend to biological needs.
I have no problem with her playing with her toys back there, it is the other activity that bothers me.
So, being suspicious when I heard no playing-with-toys noise, I went to investigate.
Lo and behold I caught Sally starting to poop in the house.
I hollered “no” and opened the near-by door for her to go out in the back yard.
She did and after a minute or so, I let her back into the house.
We had an uneventful rest of the morning after that.
Which brings us to today.....
After my morning ablutions, I let Sally the Dog in from the still-drizzling back yard.
She was damp but not soaked.
Thus, our usual rubby-snuzzly greeting ritual was augmented by a large towel to remove most of the wetness from her heavy coat.
This she sees as a game and – what else? - tries to bite the towel.
Anyway, we get greeted and I set about making our special Saturday morning breakfast.
Since we are out of oatmeal, I planned to make her an egg to go with her kibble food.
And since I was planning on having a cheese omelet, I planned to give Sally 1/3 of my cooked treat.
Thus it was when I gave Sally her bowl of kibbled corn powder to get her started before I added the egg (still cooking), she ate a little then disappeared into the back room.
After a moment of silence, I suspected that some sort of potty need might be brewing (if she goes out there to play with her many toys, there is usually noise)
So I go out there to see what is happening and low and behold Sally is STANDING at the back door waiting to be let out.
I open the door, Sally goes out (in the light rain!), does her little squat in the grass and comes back to the door.
Naturally I praise her to the maximum degree for her brilliance, self-control and all-around fuzzy sweetness.
Then I continue fixing breakfast.
She continues nibbling at her kibble breakfast while taking side trips to the stove because she smells other good things in process.
After about five minutes, she disappears again into the back room.
And after a few seconds of silence, I go in to investigate.
Sally is again STANDING at the back door, waiting to be let out.
I open the door, Fur Flump goes out into the drizzly back yard, sniffs around a bit and does a fresh fertilization of the grass.
As she trots back to the back door, I can hardly get the praise out for being overwhelmed by the shear sudden brilliance of my pet dog.
I let her in and we sit down to eat our respective eggs/breakfasts.
She remains on the floor under the table, her nose nano meters from my knee, to let me know she is nearby and available.
She did not put any paws on my leg or sniff my food (like she did yesterday....)
While I am doing the dishes, Sally quietly played with her toys.
Then she disappears into the back room again.
And again, silence for a few seconds.
I go to the door way to investigate.
And lo and behold, Sally is once again STANDING at the back door waiting for me to let her out.
I let her out and she, again, goes out onto the soggy grass and makes another deposit.
I am nearly speechless, but praise her again, hoping she will somehow remain humble in spite of all the effusive adulation I have heaped upon her in the last 20 minutes or so.
We played gloved hands for about 10 minutes and then it was time for me to leave for my usual Saturday morning shopping trip.
I let her outside and drove to my planned rounds.
Frankly, I am astounded at the sudden change in my wonderful, big (17 inches), fuzzy dog.
We have done NO training as to where she is to stand to announce her need to exit for biological necessities.
But somehow she has connected some dots.
I wish she would bark at such times, to ensure that I do not miss a silent cue.
Maybe we can work on that part later.
For now, Sally is (suddenly) doing great on her potty training.
I know we are not completely finished with “accidents” but this is a really big step in the right direction.
.
Today is Saturday.
Normally I run before dawn on Saturdays but today a lovely thunderstorm arrived exactly at the time that I would be out doing my run.
Since lightening is sometimes fatal, I stayed snuggled in the Royal Bed until 6:30.
I will run tomorrow morning.
The temperature will be half of what it was today but there will be no chance for any electric zaps.
Two big events took place that past week since my last post.
1 While throwing away a can in my recycle bin, which I keep outside next to my back porch, Sally escaped through the slightly open door and hopped out onto the drive way, as if ready for her morning walk.
I was nowhere near ready for a walk (no leash, nothing).
I have lived in dread of Sally getting out and running off, ignoring my calls and ultimately getting smushed under a big car.
Terrified, I watched as she jumped from the porch to the driveway.
But instead of heading off down the driveway to the street, she stopped, turned around and looked at me.
I invited her back into the house, and to my great relief and surprise, she jumped up on the porch and came the house again.
I almost passed out.
2 Then one evening as Sally and I were eating/cleaning up, Sally went into the back room.
Lately, she goes in there for two reasons – 1, to play with her toys in there, or, 2, to tend to biological needs.
I have no problem with her playing with her toys back there, it is the other activity that bothers me.
So, being suspicious when I heard no playing-with-toys noise, I went to investigate.
Lo and behold I caught Sally starting to poop in the house.
I hollered “no” and opened the near-by door for her to go out in the back yard.
She did and after a minute or so, I let her back into the house.
We had an uneventful rest of the morning after that.
Which brings us to today.....
After my morning ablutions, I let Sally the Dog in from the still-drizzling back yard.
She was damp but not soaked.
Thus, our usual rubby-snuzzly greeting ritual was augmented by a large towel to remove most of the wetness from her heavy coat.
This she sees as a game and – what else? - tries to bite the towel.
Anyway, we get greeted and I set about making our special Saturday morning breakfast.
Since we are out of oatmeal, I planned to make her an egg to go with her kibble food.
And since I was planning on having a cheese omelet, I planned to give Sally 1/3 of my cooked treat.
Thus it was when I gave Sally her bowl of kibbled corn powder to get her started before I added the egg (still cooking), she ate a little then disappeared into the back room.
After a moment of silence, I suspected that some sort of potty need might be brewing (if she goes out there to play with her many toys, there is usually noise)
So I go out there to see what is happening and low and behold Sally is STANDING at the back door waiting to be let out.
I open the door, Sally goes out (in the light rain!), does her little squat in the grass and comes back to the door.
Naturally I praise her to the maximum degree for her brilliance, self-control and all-around fuzzy sweetness.
Then I continue fixing breakfast.
She continues nibbling at her kibble breakfast while taking side trips to the stove because she smells other good things in process.
After about five minutes, she disappears again into the back room.
And after a few seconds of silence, I go in to investigate.
Sally is again STANDING at the back door, waiting to be let out.
I open the door, Fur Flump goes out into the drizzly back yard, sniffs around a bit and does a fresh fertilization of the grass.
As she trots back to the back door, I can hardly get the praise out for being overwhelmed by the shear sudden brilliance of my pet dog.
I let her in and we sit down to eat our respective eggs/breakfasts.
She remains on the floor under the table, her nose nano meters from my knee, to let me know she is nearby and available.
She did not put any paws on my leg or sniff my food (like she did yesterday....)
While I am doing the dishes, Sally quietly played with her toys.
Then she disappears into the back room again.
And again, silence for a few seconds.
I go to the door way to investigate.
And lo and behold, Sally is once again STANDING at the back door waiting for me to let her out.
I let her out and she, again, goes out onto the soggy grass and makes another deposit.
I am nearly speechless, but praise her again, hoping she will somehow remain humble in spite of all the effusive adulation I have heaped upon her in the last 20 minutes or so.
We played gloved hands for about 10 minutes and then it was time for me to leave for my usual Saturday morning shopping trip.
I let her outside and drove to my planned rounds.
Frankly, I am astounded at the sudden change in my wonderful, big (17 inches), fuzzy dog.
We have done NO training as to where she is to stand to announce her need to exit for biological necessities.
But somehow she has connected some dots.
I wish she would bark at such times, to ensure that I do not miss a silent cue.
Maybe we can work on that part later.
For now, Sally is (suddenly) doing great on her potty training.
I know we are not completely finished with “accidents” but this is a really big step in the right direction.
.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
WHAT HAPPENED TO SALLY?
Evidently space aliens came and stole my dog overnight and replaced her with another animal.
She looks the same (except maybe just a tad bigger than the dog I had yesterday), but she acts very differently.
When I let Sally (I shall call this new dog the same name as my previous dog for the sake of simplicity) in this morning for our breakfast, she was appropriately excited and we did our ritual fur-rub-nose-snuggle greeting.
At one point she flopped down on her side as we rubbed and snuzzled, allowing my to rub her chest and tummy.
Then we went into the kitchen where she watched me fix her breakfast, as is our usual routine.
Except instead of her biting my slippers and pants legs in her anticipatory excitement, she either sat and watched or played with several of her chew toys that I allow to remain in the kitchen for this purpose, while I fixed her oatmeal and milk and dog food.
When the food was ready, I set her bowl in the usual place and she began eating.
Not gulping.
Meanwhile, I began preparing my breakfast of oatmeal and eggs.
As my other dog, Sally, used to do, this new dog stopped eating her food and came over to see what I was doing.
But unlike what Sally did yesterday, this new dog did not jump on my legs, bite my pants legs or shoes.
This new dog just sat and watched me.
When I had my food fixed and took it to my dining room (such as it is...) table, this new dog, went back to her bowl of food and continued to eat, as I ate my food.
As I ate, this new dog came over and sat under the table and put her chin/nose very gently against my knee – no doubt to let me know that she was there and available for crumbs from the masters table.
Not once did she put her paws on my leg.
Not once.
She did not even come close to doing it.
After the meal I let her lick my plate and bowl, as usual, then I set about washing the dishes.
While I washed, this new dog, alternated between finishing her food and playing with her toys.
Again, she did not try to bite my pants cuffs or slippers.
AND, when I sensed that she needed to go out for something (ahem...) this new dog, went outside with me, walked a few steps off and tended to her business.
Then we were ready to go back in for more quiet fellowship.
The next time I let her out a few minutes later, when asked if she wanted to come back in, she just stood and looked at me.
The Great Pyrenees indicator of “no”.
So she is outside in the cold now.
Except that “cold” is not a bad thing to a GP.
I am seeing a trend with Sally the Dog.
A bad day of misbehavior is often followed by a good day.
Seemingly all lessons taught (and failed) on one day, are learned overnight and performed appropriately the next day.
I like this new dog....
.
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