So we (Stella and I) are the proud new caretakers of one mutt foster dog who appears to be the sweetest dog alive. It's still the honeymoon phase though and he did have my whole cat in his mouth at one point this week so I'm not counting chickens just yet. No harm done - well no physical harm done to either one of them - incredibly. If it sounds like a crazy riot though, you can be sure that it was complete with an explosion of furniture and yelling. He's learning though and in a single week, he's had a world to process that is very different from the one he's lived in for the last five months.
We're actively trying to find this pup a home before he becomes a full grown dog so if you know of anyone who deserves a wonderful new best friend... give a shout and I'll happily send the details your way. (Also, see link to his Petfinder profile below)
Meanwhile I thought it might be a good thing to record some of his antics for his future owner(s) especially now that the cat incident is behind us. To be honest I think he'll be fine with cats in the end. He's a wild puppy just like someone we all know and love (ahem) started out. Did I mention that they are in love with one another? It's wonderful to watch because Stella hasn't had a dog in her life that she really liked since Diesel. He came for a visit back in the summer and although he was a perfectly lovely house guest, he declined to play their old wrestling games (could be he was just missing his owner and his new and improved life and therefore wasn't feeling it) This dog on the other hand was riding on Stella's back just two days ago. Riding her. Like a pony. He isn't a small puppy either. He weighs about thirty-five pounds. It was hilarious fun.
His name is Rusty. Or Banjo. Or whatever you want it to be ;-)
Recently I was given an opportunity to sift through every single item in my house (another story). This of course will take weeks to get through but I thought I should share with you some notes I found from the first two weeks of life here at Casa de Stella. It seems she wasn't always the good dog she is (mostly) now. It seems time erased some of the bitter cursing of those early days and now suddenly again I'm reminded that she was once living on a carnival lot eating leftover, lamp-singed chicken-on-a-stick. It's hard to believe we made it all this way.
9/24/08 - spent an hour in the crate. Barking.
ride in the car
Barney's house, he petted her- fine, Dale petted her-
electrician walked in - no barking yay.
*Stella has been trying all day to rip out the underside of the chair in my office. Slept in the bathroom while Michele and I walked.
COMPLETELY CRAZY. wouldn't listen, wanted to run and jump and bite me, barked incessantly at neighbor John. generally obnoxious. exhausted (me)
9/25/08 - awake 6:30 (outside pee break) - back to bed.
8:30 - crazy, tearing up the side of the bed/my pants
constantly testing the limits. gnawing things
outside to pee. back in - peed in front of the crate. Drove to B's house in Kentucky. Stella slept. B got in the car with us, no problem. Smiley growling at her all day pretty much. Long walk, checked out cows, cemetery, tobacco field. Ran around until we left. Came in the house. Peed. Slept. Woke up, peed before I could get to the door. help.
9/26/08 - awake 6:00 (went outside - thank you God) still wrecking underside of office chair. Pulled her out four times - she peed in the living room while I ripped off the chair liner and threw it out. then barking at cat. I am an idiot. cleaned up pee six(?) times today. * buy more Nature's Miracle now
I can't imagine the dog Stella would be if she'd stayed on the carnival all this time. The odds weren't in her favor but dogs are a lot heartier than we think. Apparently people and office chairs are too.
Here is a great update from Diesel's new mom Debbie (who we're officially crazy about):
Diesel and Maggie are good friends now – Maggie’s still the boss but they do play together. He’s used to the routine now, he goes out in the morning and stays out until night unless the weather is bad…Maggie is scared of lightning and thunder so I always bring her in and it’s not fair to leave him outside so he comes in also. He’s very good about going to his bed and laying down when he’s in the house although sometimes he gets very excited and runs around like a goofball. [ed. note: I find this incomprehensible.]
I got Diesel a toy that he’s absolutely gaga over – it’s just a squeaky ball wrapped in canvas with several canvas tails so you can play tug of war. He’s so obsessive about it and it just cracks me up when he squeaks it – he’s loves it. I have discovered that he keeps it safe by burying it then digging it back up so it’s always muddy and nasty but he will carry it around for hours and hours.
He’s laying out on the deck in the sun right now next to Maggie. He won’t go near the horses and when I let them in the front yard, he stays under the carport and watches to make sure they don’t come anywhere near him (they couldn’t really care less about where he is anyway). I’ll be interested to see how he handles the farrier when he comes to do my horses because I bring them under the carport for the farrier so Diesel’s safe place will be penetrated by those evil horses – what will he do? So far, he’s a pretty happy guy.
I wonder if you trained Diesel to run on a treadmill. The first nasty day that he was here and I couldn’t play ball with him to spill some of his energy – I put him on the treadmill and he immediately knew what to do. It’s wonderful because now if he’s too full of himself and I don’t have the time or inclination to go outside and work it out of him, I just stick him on the treadmill and let him go for a mile or more and then he’s just fine.
He’s a good dog and I’m glad to have him.
How does it feel to only have one dog to contend with? I bet you find you have a lot of extra time on your hands and a lot calmer life.
First, thanks to Debbie for the update. We really appreciate it. Second, as I told her in a return e-mail, I did (in a fit of exhaustion) teach Diesel to run on the treadmill. I hadn't mentioned it here until this very minute because I wanted a good video of it which necessitated moving furniture and setting up a light, but I ran out of time over the holidays. It was a lot of fun and to be honest, I didn't have to do that much teaching. I just had to figure out the logistics of it and say "good boy" a few times and he understood. I held the leash and pretended to walk or jog along next to him. He did it without second guessing me, without an explanation and with zero experience. It was beautiful.
Stella, on the other hand..did not master the treadmill. Stella analyzes everything and she thinks way too much. She'll walk up onto anything I ask her to but you let the floor start moving and Stella is going to pick up her marbles and go straight home.
Lastly, life is definitely more calm with just one dog. Especially since the two of them used to play the canine version of Smackdown in my office twice a day. Initially, I encouraged this behavior - in order to teach them to "stop" on command but they burned some good energy that way too and never once broke anything or turned over a piece of furniture - which I still find amazing.
So you don't have a fenced in yard and your dog is unpredictable around strange dogs and his recall isn't what it should be or will be and you have to find a way to drain the energy out of him in order to (as some famous dog trainers might say..) make a clear path to his mind.. So what do you do?
Well, our choices are somewhat limited but the best thing I've found so far involves a lake and a tennis ball. Let it be known that our friend Diesel is a little bit obsessed with the ball under most circumstances but after a few swims, his demeanor is much more relaxed. He begins to "drop it" automatically. This gives me the opportunity to "catch" the behavior and name it for him. Over and over and over again until he is asleep sitting up in the back of my car.
At first he wouldn't swim at all. Then I explained the whole Labrador Retriever thing to him and an hour later, he was a pro.
We got the certificate.
Diesel, formerly misunderstood, outside, chained to the doghouse, could've been a junkyard dog, Diesel - is officially a Pup Scout graduate. Many thanks to his teacher Jane and his anonymous sponsor and all the other pups and owners who graciously put up with us for nine weeks. We commend your brave spirits.
Up to the very last week, he/we had trouble getting into and out of the room where our class was. I mentioned at the beginning we had to pass through an agility training room filled with equipment and dogs each week. At this point in his fresh start - just opening the door to go into this room was like plugging him into a wall socket. He did (mostly) get used to being around the other dogs in class though and that part was very good. That's actually the biggest hurdle we faced and the reason I wanted to take him in the first place. It was established early on that he's some kind of boy genius. Smarter than I ever gave him credit for before. He learned to sit and lie down, stay and come and all of the basics on the first or second try. He's seriously food motivated though so if you don't have any in your hand - his responses vary, for now anyway. For some reason he blew off every trick I tried to teach him and didn't learn a single one, not even with Stella and her oh-so-theatrical demonstrations. We'll more than likely try again on some rainy day or save them for his future owner to work on.
It was last Tuesday, the third Good Pup! class at Pup Scouts. We're working on the usual, basic commands and good behavior. Loose leash walking. Sit. Down. Come. My personal favorite: Leave it.
Our patient and talented trainer Holly, got out the long leash and announced that we were about to work on Come, only this time - from a distance. I checked my treat pouch to make sure I had enough to distract Diesel from what I thought (shame on me) would be his downfall. The other dogs.
Thankfully, we walked away from our classmates a pretty good distance before starting. I was still unsure. I peered into his eyes though and said the words: "Diesel, come." Without the slightest bit of hesitation he launched into this cartoon-style peel out where his legs were going like a freight train but his body wasn't moving. He was suspended in time and space. When he finally did get his feet planted he was over to me in about two seconds. It was hysterical pretty much every time he did it. I was laughing so hard the third time that when he came sailing into my arms he rammed his whole head in the treat pouch and cleaned it out. He didn't stop wagging that night until long after we were home.
Diesel posing in the dining room chair he claimed at Beverly's house
Obedience school may turn out to be the greatest thing that ever happened to Diesel. Except for the actual getting in the door part that is. And the leaving. During class Diesel is a dream. He's figured out exactly how to get the pay off and really the biggest roadblocks have been that and him joining in in on any and all barking. He is without a doubt the best barker of the bunch so once they get started he's more than happy to show off his skills. It's fine.
The room we have to walk through to get to class is like a small gym. It's set up for agility and there is typically one or more well-behaved dogs off leash, running the course. This drives Diesel mad. Last night we arrived early and when we walked in and he did his thing, everyone felt compelled to move to the other side of the room. I didn't blame them. I would've moved too. Fortunately though, we got to watch the agility class for a few minutes and that was great. Once Diesel calmed down, he was totally fascinated. I mean fascinated in an "I really think I could do that" kind of way. We may be early birds next week too, just to be the audience. Despite the little behavioral issue, I can see him becoming more confident and relaxed. It's really a lovely thing to watch. He was always a good dog, don't get me wrong, he was just limited in the ways he could express all that big dog energy. Meanwhile, we're just here, laying on some foster love and keeping a keen eye out for energetic adults who might benefit from seventy pounds of goofball inspiration.
Oh and if anyone is looking for a new high powered dog treat... try BilJac frozen dog food. I don't know what's in it but apparently it's like crack cocaine for dogs.
I've taken a little hiatus here to install some new software (Lightroom) guaranteed to keep me busy for the next decade cataloging pictures. The good news is: Among other things, I've found a few old carny dog shots that were lost in the cyber-filing cabinet. The bad news is: I may never leave the house or do dishes or for that matter, eat - again.
She walks slowly up to him from behind
careless and refined.
Her feet fall perfectly in line with his
she hesitates in the stillness
Side by side, their eyes meet.
She pulls back then just enough to make him quiver
and presses her face ever so gently into the side of his jaw.
She whispers... Douchebag.
Next thing I know, it's like a WalMart riot in the middle of my office floor. I've had to get out a whistle. After about a week I managed to get some control over the situation but now they're switching up the time and place.
Fortunately we all went a-dogsitting this last weekend at Aunt Beverly's house (pictures to follow) and the two of them got to get some of it out of their system ripping through the yard and engaging in all manner of Smackdown-type maneuvers. It's really a joy to watch although when they get running I feel like all the humans should have a helmet on.
We're off to obedience school tonight. I hope Diesel can hang with the other dogs and not be too stressed. If he can make that particular hurdle, I suspect he'll be an honor student.
I do not have a fenced in yard at my house so after summer camp there was/is Boot Camp. He's been here two weeks now so I feel compelled to give you all the Cliffs Notes version of how things have progressed. We do after all, need to get busy finding him a permanent home and I'm happy (and a bit relieved) to say that behaviorally, he has a ton of good qualities working in his favor.
The first forty eight hours (after the honeymoon week at Beverly's) we were attached by a leash, he and I. If he made a move, I knew it, even during the night. What with all the regular exercise, he slept through the night from the beginning and once he recognized the routine - house training and crate training were a breeze. Mind you he isn't all that excited going into the crate but he doesn't mind it once he's in there, even sleeps there voluntarily during the day. Stella taught him about the crate and the "going outside" as well. All I did really was dole out leashes and open the door regularly for a few days.
Walking them together is a challenge but we're managing pretty well. I started out with short distances. They outweigh me by ten pounds and since Diesel has been walked very little in the past, it's conceivable that I could get caught off balance and wake up in Wilson County so I do try to be cautious. Also, for those who believe in karma, I once laughed at a woman who went cartwheeling into a ditch behind two out-of-control dogs chasing a squirrel, so there's that. I figure I'm getting a skinned elbow for that at the very least and for the record, I shouldn't have laughed, she could have been hurt very badly - it just looked so much like a cartoon I had no choice. Anyway, together or separately, the two of them have done remarkably well in just a short period of time.
Maybe the best news of all is that my dear friend Christine, the one with the oh-so-well-behaved dog pack, has offered to sponsor eight weeks of obedience school for Diesel. Hooray! We start next Tuesday and I'm really excited because he appears to be such a quick study. If he gets adopted and moves to Rhode Island - maybe we can donate the remaining classes to some other needy mutt.
Here again, is the link to Diesel's Petfinder page as well. I suppose I should just put it in the sidebar until that kid moves on to greener pastures. Let me know if you all hear of anyone looking for a new best friend.
This is just impossible to resist. Although you can't see it in the photos, the kittens who are twelve days old - have opened their eyes over the last couple of days. Apparently, all kittens have blue eyes starting out. Darling (Aunt) Stella has been in to see them twice so far. Though she hasn't really had any direct contact, she seems to be calm and collected about the whole situation. Curious but totally under control. I've explained to her that in just a few short weeks we're going to be peeling these babies off the ceiling and that no matter what happens, there is to be no running and it is imperative that her mouth remain closed at all times.
These are the moments when I wish I was a cartoonist instead of a photographer.
Ordinarily I might have tossed out this goof ball picture but I was reminded in that instant when the shutter clicked, of how well-adjusted a dog can be, given the right amount of exercise, which these days is not so much what with the 110 degree heat index, or whatever it is. I don't check it anymore. I'm not complaining (since some of you are bearing up under considerably more) but I will be giddy happy when things begin to cool off. Typically, that's the first week after Labor Day. Typically.
This public art piece also serves as a bicycle rack. It's made of metal and although you can't tell it in the photo - there's a three-year-old kid beating on the other side of it (on Stella's left) with his fists. It sounded like an adult beating on an aluminum trash can. He and his mother came out of nowhere and I still can't believe Stella didn't jump out of her skin when he started. Mom could plainly see that I wasn't holding onto Stella's leash at ALL, but she seemed to think the whole thing was really entertaining. He did three or four different rounds of it, Stella blinked and flinched a few times but never moved. Finally when mom didn't make him stop. I picked up her leash and we moved on. That was the same day we met Ernest (on litter patrol in the park) so it was all good.
When I got Stella almost two years ago, what I knew about raising a dog would have fit on the head of a pin. Like everything now that deals with unknown territory, I got online immediately, looking for experts. As many of you know, there is no shortage of dog training advice out there. It comes in all sizes and repeats itself often. There were however, a couple of sites that stood out and managed to hold my attention over the ensuing months.
One was Lindsay Stordahl's blog, That Mutt. As a newbie, I found in Lindsay's tone a comfortable, friendly approach. I liked that she used her very own dog Ace to illustrate her tips and occasional set- backs and I was inspired by the fact that she continued on with her routine through winters in Fargo, North Dakota. We like to cry and whine about the cold winter here in Tennessee, heh.
Another blog I discovered early on was Neil Sattin's Natural Dog Blog. I found this page quite by accident back when I was interrogating people in the park, about how they trained their dogs to walk off leash. I didn't necessarily want to walk Stella off leash but I did want to know how it was possible to teach a dog such a thing. Again, Google returned a list of choices that included someone recommending you "get a really long leash" (see above photo). That was both humorous and hard to ignore. I clicked on the link and found an entirely new way of thinking about dogs and their behavior. It explained a lot and I think I've mentioned before, Stella responded to even the tiniest changes, in a totally positive way, or maybe it was me.
I say all that to say this: One day about three weeks ago, Lindsay gave away a set of Neil's DVD's and I'm happy to report - WE WON!!!!!
The DVD's are excellent and Neil didn't ask me to plug him or his blog, I just thought I'd turn you all on to them in the event someone out there is having problems or looking for a new approach that moves beyond the basics. Enjoy.
Stella and I went downtown on Monday (along with about twenty thousand other people) and shot a few pictures of the flood water. We also went to a couple of other places we normally walk and though the water was gone, the damage was significant. One thing many people tend to overlook in this town is the number of hills and creeks there are before you ever get to the Cumberland River. They're where the trouble started. The river didn't rise until the sun was already out.
One thing that became apparent (and I don't mean to minimize anyone's disaster) after the water receded was how filthy the streets of Nashville usually are. On Monday they were sparkling clean with the exception of the worst areas, which is of course where all the dirt and litter ended up. Once everything is under control I think Nashville should launch a campaign, I mean - one would think a city worthy of a half a billion dollar convention center would also have clean streets, no?
Tricky Treat
About two weeks ago, Stella and I took neighbor Judy to see the doctor. We usually walk the fitness trail around their parking lot (it's a hospital) while Judy sees the doctor and along the route we pass a preschool. When we passed it that day, the kids were all playing in a fenced area and their teacher took this opportunity to teach them the word "dog". Naturally, they all ran over to the fence and waved to Stella. I told Stella to sit and she did and I thought to myself, wouldn't it be great if Stella could wave back?
That night I decided to try teaching her this trick and it took about five tries before she did it perfectly. I expect it'll be a while before she'll do it for strangers out in the world but when she does...it'll be serious fun. On that note, training one dog to do a trick is pretty simple. Training a whole pack of dogs to do synchronized tricks is something altogether different and I'm glad I don't have that on my list of things to do anytime soon. Check out this incredibly fun video sent in by regular visitor, Susan Rose.(Thanks Susan)
The bad news is Stella failed the CGC test. She did fine on everything until it came time to walk past the lovely and talented, Glory (isn't that a great name for a dog?) I can't say it was a subtle thing either. It was like being carried on the horseshoe end of a sixty-pound magnet. No amount of sweet talking would sway her. She was given the benefit of a doubt. Excitement overwhelmed her as it almost always does. I had planned on us having a big celebration afterward but instead I crafted a big ol'Miss America-type sash when we got home. It says: LOSER. (I'm wearing it right now.)
Not to worry though, we can take the test again in ten weeks. Meanwhile, we're going to watch this training video (lifted from Terrierman) once a day for inspiration.
On to the good news. And it is good. The day before we took the test, Stella and I met with my friend Christine who is a dog person if there ever was one. She still laughs at the fact that I - a cat person for twenty-five years would ever have a dog, let alone the handful of dog I ended up with. We tagged along on a walk that she regularly does with two of her four dogs: Arthur, a Weimeraner, just a few months older than Stella and Fiona Tina, a senior cancer-surviving Shepherd mix. Not only did Stella get to make two new actual friends but she got to do the walk without a leash. This very nearly blew her mind. Mine too. The only time she's been unleashed in her soon-to-be two years, we've been at the dog park or at the baseball field. Arthur fetched a tennis ball most of the way and Stella fetched Arthur most of the way. As you might expect, this led to much Snoopy dancing and an overall feeling of giddiness on her part. She seemed more contented than usual for the rest of the day.
This morning she and I dropped Barney's clothes off at the Green Street Church of Christ. They have a closet there for people who are living on the street and/or those who are needy. After that we went to a local cemetery and tried the off-leash thing again only this time it was just the two of us. It was also fun but I'm sure Stella missed the other two dogs. (Tip: cemeteries almost always have borders or even fields of undeveloped land; they also generally have paved roads and trash cans at regular intervals) We missed this beautiful weather walking last year. The trees around town bloomed big this time around and it seems they all got going at the same time instead of their usual stagger. I hope Jack Frost has been successfully run out of town.
Yesterday we went over to Cheekwood Botanical Garden to see how the Nashville Lifestyles cover dog search was going. We didn't enter Stella this year mostly because we knew there'd be a hundred and sixty Golden Doodles vying to get the job (see below). I don't know if that's a Poodle, a Golden Doodle, or a Snicker Doodle, but there's no debating it's a gorgeous dog. Anyway, our regular Saturday class was rescheduled yesterday but not for Stella. She got the intensified reality version. We practiced walking calmly past other dogs, greeting friendly strangers, talking to kids, and later on, ignoring skateboards, bicycles and hamburger buns. It was not simple work but we did pretty well overall.
Talk about your major league distractions. Right about the time I was taking this photo, an Irish Wolfhound was reaching in Stella's direction to check her out. His owner didn't let him get close enough to touch but it was enough to make her forget all about that "watch me" business.
1. First off, let me just say in my defense: it is impossible to pass a dog with a wig in your hand and NOT try the wig on the dog. If one should decide to photograph the dog however, it is imperative that laughter be kept to a minimum. Trust me, there will be plenty of time to laugh later. (same goes for people, btw)
2. One of Stella's best things is walking through a crowd. The Lawn and Garden Show was at the fairgrounds last weekend so we went over and followed the parade of visitors through the parking lots for fun. We also navigated the long lines of people who were waiting to buy tickets. She did great as always and we celebrated our success by running like mad women back behind the race track.
3. On sunny Saturdays, apparently it's fun to go over to (local coffee house) Fido where you can sit outside with your pup and enjoy a coffee. All the tables were taken so we didn't sit but according to the body language of one guy, we'll call him Stinkeye, Pit bull-type dogs (I'm being funny there, I love that expression, what is a "pit bull-type" dog?) may not be all that welcome anyway, so we kept moving. Stella did a little low key rubber-necking and I didn't mind. We probably walked a mile through Hillsboro Village, well past Vanderbilt and back again.
4. Then on to school where she had words with a shepherd mix who got in her personal space. Both dogs and owners recovered nicely.
5. Stella has almost no separation issues. At class we're up to two minutes. Out in the world, we're up to about fifteen minutes. I have more anxiety than she does when we're apart.
6. Beware of strange dogs galloping after you on suburban streets. Later, we went for a walk around the block and a good sized (maybe 75lb.) dog came running out from between two houses. It climbed all over Stella and then went from being over-excited to aggressive in the blink of an eye. It tried to bite her twice. I stepped between them before Stella could react and made the dog's options very clear. It went trotting off. Five houses down, a beautiful little French Bulldog came blasting out of yet another yard. It didn't try to start a fight though (thank God) and its owner retrieved it immediately.
7. If I haven't said it lately, Latina moms are way cool. We got out of the car at the ball park on Sunday and from a distance I noticed a Mexican family moving in our direction. There were two women and five little children of various ages. I moved Stella aside and put her into a sit. I was surprised to see that they didn't plan to go around us, they planned to stop and pet Stella. Naturally, they had a two year old with them who was terrified of dogs and they hoped to use Stella in the same way I hoped to use their other kids. As luck would have it, I had a pocketful of liver treats so it was win-win. We hung out with them for fifteen or twenty minutes and Stella ended up charming the frightened kid and getting more than one belly rub out of the deal. She walked away a different dog. I'm not saying it was permanent but she had a sweet look in her eye that told me she felt really good about it all. We celebrated with a swim in the creek.
Yesterday, the sun finally came out and it was such a relief. After a few quirks in our schedule, I decided to take Stella over to Radnor Lake. Walking there hasn't been a great experience in the past although it's beautiful, there are lots of deer and other critters and I suspect that the smells are overwhelming to a young dog. Stella has a way of forgetting everything she ever knew about manners and walking in general when we go there. It's one of a few situations where I am nothing more to her than an anchor.
Yesterday was a little different, with one exception. We've been working on the portion of the CGC test where we greet a friendly stranger. While we've been doing this unsuccessfully for some time, often our difficulties come when the stranger is too friendly. You wouldn't think that would be a problem but it sends Stella to the moon. I haven't been able to direct this interaction as much as I'd like to since I know these are really nice people who just want to pet the dog. I refuse to start off by lecturing them about their approach. Not only that, I've learned these last months that the world is filled with exuberant baby-talking dog lovers and that's never going to change. People coo at her from open car windows until her butt starts wagging and she just about pees herself. I'm not complaining at all, really - there are worse things.
Anyway, it always seems to end with her trying her best to decorate them with her muddy paw prints. This scene repeated itself yesterday. I said "sit". She ignored me completely. I said "sit" again, she didn't. I showed her a piece of a hot dog I had in my hand and said "sit". Nothing. She just wanted to meet the new person who was busy telling her how beautiful she was. Beyond that one incident, I have to say she was much improved over last time we came here. There were dogs and bicycles and photographers (seemingly) hiding in the woods. The only thing she got locked onto was a family of peacocks and who could blame her for that? I would've taken a photo except that um... I was attached to a big nutball dog.
Sunday morning I woke up and it felt like I'd been picked up and slammed onto the ground. Then I remembered I had been. Someone I was talking to later, asked if I had been given the Marmaduke treatment and that's exactly what it was, except I wasn't actually dragged. If I had witnessed it myself I would still be laughing and telling the story but since I couldn't move my right shoulder that day it wasn't nearly as funny. It happened downtown right before our girl Stella went for her third obedience (CGC) class. I usually try to spend some time burning off that top layer of energy before we go so we went down to the Titan's stadium and walked across the bridge to 2nd Avenue. We cruised the entire street and went up Broadway, back down and back across the bridge. We successfully passed about twelve signboards on the sidewalk. Those things used to make Stella come unglued. These days she doesn't even notice them. Once we got back to the stadium I put Stella on the long leash and after a little practice "staying" I got out the tennis ball. The second or third time I threw it, it actually went much further than I'd anticipated and that's the exact moment I chose to look away. There's a cartoon sound effect for what happened when the leash ran out.
All I heard was the thud and when I sat up Stella was studying me with the ball in her mouth from about sixty five feet away. I opened my arms and thankfully, she came racing back to me. Like a cannon ball.
At school we had one little breakdown in communication (imagine that) but otherwise I'd call it successful so far. I have to find some kids that'll hang out with Stella a little bit. She's still overly excited around them except when we're in a big crowd and it's hard to recruit someone's kids to play with your pit bull when they don't know you or the dog that well. Maybe I'll put an ad on Craigslist. Wanted: small children to play with excitable but friendly dog (I can already hear the editorial comments on that post). I know I'm a little behind on pictures but they're coming.
My living room looks like the dog daycare exploded in it only without all the little tote boxes and the barking. There are leashes, umbrellas and plastic bags, boots, hats, scarves, gloves, towels, tug toys, clickers and all manner of canine bullshit scattered all over the room. You'd think I had three or four dogs. I've only just begun to appreciate the idea of a coat rack but unfortunately there's no place to put one.
Since I'm on the topic of paraphernalia, here is my question for all you dog trainer types out there: Where do you keep your third hand anyway? I mean, I have the leash; I have the clicker and the treat and maybe even an umbrella. At some point, I end up with a big bag of dog poop which I carry along like it's my party favor. If someone honks or says hello, invariably that's the hand I (accidentally) wave with - the one with the loaded bag. I have to steer the dog and keep her focused. I have to watch where we're going and maneuver us past racing, yes I said racing, school buses and FedEx trucks. Let's don't forget that I must also stay relaxed and meditative about the whole thing lest she parlay that teenage nutty streak of hers into a game of "You can't catch me even on a four foot leash." Constantly, I hear people say the dog knows what I'm thinking. I don't mean to contradict this very popular canine (psychic) theory but if the dog knew what I was thinking, there would be no reason for her to lunge at a little kid on a bicycle more than one time. "Jeez, mom's actually thinking about murdering me - maybe I better behave myself."
Last Friday, Stella and I went walking at a cemetery near the house. We go pretty often because it's close to home and there's a place in the back corner where the fence runs out where you can slide down a retaining wall and end up in the parking lot of PetSmart. It's kind of like dog walking Nirvana. We don't usually buy much when we're there but we do cruise all the aisles and publicly curse the fact that there's never so much as a single piece of dog food on the floor. That day, just by chance I bought some dehydrated beef liver (for class on Saturday, she's doing really well at home and pretty well at class).
We get back to the cemetery and I put Stella on the long leash so we could play ball in a little empty space at the back. We try to be dignified at the cemetery so as not to fire up any grieving family members. Not long after that I hear a dog barking. In the distance I saw what looked to be a good sized dog challenging us from a distance amid the flower arrangements. That's odd I thought. I'd never seen a dog loose in the cemetery before. I wondered if it was lost or just visiting. Then something very strange happened. The one barking dog turned into five dogs. Biggie-sized. All of them scattered about in the corner, all now standing watching us; ready to protect their turf. The first thing I did was open the bag of liver. Unfortunately the camera was at home. I can only describe it as something that might have been in a Stephen King movie.
Stella saw them but didn't seem terribly excited. Once I got her safely in the car I went over and told some gravediggers about the dogs. They looked at me with the same level of enthusiasm that every gravedigger I ever met seems to have. On the way out we drove past the dogs one more time just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating and check them out up close. Again, they all stood up on cue and the five of them got her attention this time. The above shot is from a different walk in that same cemetery. It's the grave site of Marty Robbins and his wife. Stella and I hunted for it off and on for five months before I finally walked into the office and asked them where it was. The young man I asked - had never heard of Marty Robbins and seeing as I didn't know his real name is Martin Robinson, they had to do a little hunting too. We finally found it but not before Stella launched off barking at a concrete Jesus.
Stella started Better Family Dog Manners class at Dogs and Kat, on Saturday. I'm already excited because this assumes that she has family dog manners to begin with. In eight weeks, we'll take the Canine Good Citizen test where she will no doubt add some new twist to that "Sit for a random stranger" routine they do. My friend Barney (the very friend who talked me into holding a fund-raiser for her second knee surgery) is officially her sponsor now. Someday I will tell you all a story about where he got the money to pay for her education but not today. She did pretty well on Saturday and I was happy to see that she isn't the biggest dog in class. There's a Great Dane named Hazel that's a year old and already stands something like five foot nine. There's also a Sheltie, a Shepherd mix, a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, two matching Malteses, and Stella. It really seems like the perfect group to tell you the truth. A class picture would be priceless.
A couple of weeks ago I ordered a new training leash. We graduated from a thirty to a fifty footer. It's sweet and a lot more durable than the last one. I like the added exercise not to mention the extreme happiness Stella gets from being able to run semi-free. I have to admit that the weather has made me slightly grumpy of late, but not her. She seems to have no concept whatsoever of frostbite or runny noses but I'm counting the days.
We also got our prizes in the mail last week from Koko's Pet Spa. Stella won third place (thanks to all of you dedicated voters) We haven't used the Vitamin Shower yet but it looks pretty cool and I'm sure it'll keep her skin soft and dandruff free. She doesn't have a big problem with that but the water here is laced with chemicals so it can't possibly hurt to filter them out. We gave the prize money ($50) to the Cheatham County Animal Awareness Foundation. She also won some treats, a boomerang-shaped fetch toy which she is totally excited about and a bath towel that is both useful and hysterical. Pictures to follow.
