OUR FRIEND HAS LEFT US

One has to feel sorry for scientists having you lot associating yourself with them. Your objectivity is entirely at the mercy of your sentiments.

Fortunately, our boy dog is not penis-obsessed. That can be very embarrassing or very funny in mixed company, depending upon one's point of view and sense of humor.

Checkurdick! Ha!

A friend of mine named his dog Offenbach.

I've just spent a very worthwhile five minutes putting all the decrypto wotsits on ignore. It's certainly cleared the dickheads from my browsing on A2K.

Nothing so satisfying than encountering a total dickhead and pressing the ignore button.

Just got back from an hour-long walk, at the coolest time of day, which right now is not saying much. I'm running with sweat. The little girl did not do badly, although she still has to have her butt manually put on the sidewalk when i give the sit command. She seems reconciled to it, though. She ran into the street twice, but in both cases, some damned fool was walking down the middle of the street, and, of course, Bella has to go meet everyone she sees.

Which basically means that Lordyass is confined to the company of those persons he approves of. His companions, if he has any for more than a week or two, are mirrors for him to preen into.

I'm not.

I still refuse to sit when we get to a corner

they're gone now - the contest has ended

they'll be back next year for their regular two days

I kinda like the kids - all enthusiastic and everything.

So I've just wasted ten mins on a once a year craze?

Ne'er mind.

I thought my dog had disappeared, but when I went out to check, I could just make out his shape, lying right in amongst the undergrowth of the hedge.
It's another hot one today, so he'll probably be there most of the day.

The fox is going to get a surprise if he's out today, as that's the bit he usually uses to get from mine to next door's garden.

The little girl has been sleeping the morning away.

Another walk behind us. I took a different route, one which involved lots of street crossing in a quiet neighborhood. She still doesn't like the sit thing, but she seems resigned. No incidents, although she did try to follow a woman who was walking her dog, and i had to yank her back before she broke the sacred "don't go into the street" rule. She wants to meet everyone she sees. But she was a good girl, and today, when i would push he bottom down, she would stay in the site until we crossed the street. I would praise her then. She doesn't know from treats, so praise works just fine.

How's it going? Don't stop posting - dying to know how she is getting on, and if she's started understanding the 'don't go into the street' and other such rules! Bless her, must be so confusing - she wants to please you and ehBeth so much - but it's all so new and strange to her. She looks - and sounds - an absolute darling.

Well, the absolute darling is as stubborn as a Missouri mule. We just got back from another walk, and i'll have to feed them. I'll come back in a moment and provide an update.

Sorry, i got wrapped up in other things and did not provide an update.

A week ago yesterday (Friday the 19th) we left the house, i made her sit (pushed her bottom to the ground) and then we crossed the street. The intersecting streets don't go through, so we walked three long blocks before crossing the street again. I told her to sit, she sat, we crossed the street, and then she realized what she had done, and was mortified. So she refused to cooperate for the rest of the walk. I had to make her sit each time we crossed the street, and often she would stand up again right away, so i'd have to make her sit again, sometimes three or four times.

Then on Sunday evening, we had had a rather normal walk, which meant i'd had to force her to sit at each corner, but at least she wasn't running out into the street. We got to the last street crossing, and although she wasn't sitting on command, she wasn't running into the street either. Mr. Bailey, being an old guy, had wandered up the street to the right, and while coaxing him to come back (he's getting a little senile), Bella darted into the street, and there was a car coming. I dragged her back and i was livid (my heart was going like a trip hammer). I yelled "SIT DOWN" at her, and she plopped her burt down promptly (i have visions of dogs all over the neighborhood suddenly sitting down).

Since then she has sat on command at a street corner twice--once because she knew i was getting angry, and the other time because she forgot herself. So she could do it every time, but she's willful and obstinate. She's got "walk around" pretty much down pat, and she understands no. She is far less likely to dart into the street, but i need to be 100% certain of that before we abandon the sitting at corners routine. Apart from being stubborn, she's scatter-brained. "Look! The guy across the street wants to meet me, he's talking to me!" No, Bella, he's talking to his phone and don't you dare go into the street. "Look! That dog is takng his woman for a walk, and they want to meet me--she's talking to me!" No, Bella, she's talking to her phone, and don't you dare go into the street.

She'll do fine for a while, but she wants to meet everyone she sees, and she wants to investigate every new thing, every sound, smell, etc. For her, that's damned near everything. She's a good girl, there's not an ounce of malice in her, but it's going to take a while, because she obstinate about sit and she won't focus, which is the entire purpose of the sit at the corner exercise.

She's a completely lovey-dovey dog, so praise is worth more than a whole pocket-full of treats, and if one gets angry, she's very dismayed and wants to make things right. I can't train her, though, by yelling at her all the time. "No" is taking effect. If we are on the porch and the gate is closed, and she shows signs of trying to slip through the raining (which she can do in a few places) telling her "no" is sufficient. She usually just has to meet whoever it is walking by, so if she can be restrained by a word, she will quickly lose interest. If she does slip through the railing, she'll be gone, because she just doesn't know any better. The world, and especially the world of a major city, is a dangerous place for dogs (people, too), so she needs to learn to pay attention and to focus on what i tell her, just to be safe. This is not about imposing my will--if she reaches a point at which i don't fear that she'll dart into the street, then i will no longer make her sit at the corners. Mr. Bailey will see dogs on the other side of the street, and i know he'd like to go meet them,but he's too well trained to go into the street. That's the point i would like her to reach.

She sounds so like our Megan! Megs has the attention span of a gnat - she's ten years old, and although she is obedient for 99% of the time nowadays, there is always that 1% margin where she totally forgets the rules and just goes walkabout.

It took a long time to train her to the 99% obedience - she's eager to please, and loves both petting and treat rewards, but her eyes still glaze over occasionally, and off she goes to sp/eak to another dog or greet a person - big sighs all round! I don't think we'll ever be able to trust her quite to the extent we have all our other dogs - she's stubborn and wilful at times - but she's a loving and lovely dog, well worth all the time and trouble we've invested in her since we adopted her.

Any more photos of your newcomer? Love seeing them. She's a little beauty.

I'm sure The Girl has some pix--i'll ask her. We are going to an outdoor concert this evening down down at the lake--a place called Harbourfront Centre (the Canajuns don't spell any better than the English), where we will meet a young lady who is a member here, although i don't think she's posted in quite a while--Gracie. I'm sure this will produce a spate of photos.

Look forward to seeing them. IF my computer is still working ... it keeps breaking down! Busy looking for a budget price replacement - gosh, so many out there - gets really confusing for a novice like me. Looking now at an Acer Aspire - price is about right, but no idea if it's any good. Wish me luck.

Hope you have a great time at the lakeside concert this evening. Sounds rather lovely, weather permitting. Expecting fireworks here - big thunderstorms heading our way from the Continent.

Where are you located in Angle-land? I thought your prevailing weather patterns came from the Atlantic.

Are you talking about Gracie Girl?!

Oh I miss her So much.
She must have a little brother/sister by now....yeah of course, so much time has gone by.

Tell her Chai said 'hi' if you think of it.

She's a lovely young lady...well, not so young now I guess.

I'm an expat from the North-East, down here in the South-East - we get a lot of weather from the Atlantic, but being such a small island, we get hit from all sides, so get some extremes of weather from the Continent too - hot and hotter, plus thunderstorms!

What state?