Don’t get too excited. We are NOT getting a puppy. Really. We’re not. But, I wanted to share a little more puppy porn with you, including video that may include a new candidate for the still-open position as Lilly’s best, best dog friend. It’s a job (and I do mean “job”) that’s been open since her dear friend Katie, the borzoi, moved away.
Last Sunday, Lilly did the Tour du Grandmas, vising first my mom who now lives in an assisted living facility and then Tom’s mom who is home after more than two months away. I ran out the door without my camera. So, sadly, I have no photos or video to show.
Sometimes Lilly is so intent on playing fetch in a way that doesn’t get Ginko riled up to the point that he ruins the game. The ONLY way to accomplish that is by using a stick rather than a toy. For some reason, Ginko could not care less about sticks. Lilly’s stick strategy worked fine until she became friends with Katie, the borzoi, because Katie had no qualms about stealing sticks.
Rather than our usual weekly training update, we’re instead sharing a video we made this week showing (as best we can) the “whiplash” recall. Trying to train and film at the same time affects Lilly’s overall performance (slows her down), but I think you’ll get the idea. The goal is to get her to turn on a dime and return when called.
My family had several dogs when I was growing up, but the first dog I chose, raised, and cared for on my own was a Dalmatian named Penelope Grace. She was a handful, but when you’re 22 years old, that doesn’t seem like a biggie. Yet, early on, I established all kinds of rules because I was a grown-up.
When we told the physical therapists working with Tom’s mom about Lilly being able to roll a therapy ball around like a circus dog, they were excited to see it. So, on Monday, we took Lilly down to the residential physical therapy place so that she could visit her Grandma, see some of the residents, and show off. It went really well.
Last week, I decided to try a friend’s dog bathing strategy of taking Lilly into the shower with me. That’s probably TMI. Yes? Well, it worked remarkably well. (No photos, of course.)
Last Friday on Twitter, I posted a Mini-Rant that prompted a few people to ask what on earth had happened. There is NO way to tell that particular story in 140 characters, so here is the full-sized rant.
Thanks to diligence on my part, Lilly is MUCH better about the toenail thing than Ginko. I take the tiniest bit off of each of her nails once a week, both so that they don’t get too long and so that she never gets out of practice with this grooming task. We jokingly call it Turkey for Toenails, but most times I use cheese instead. One toe, one hunk of cheese. It’s a good trade.
During the long, cold, snowy winters, it’s hard to find a good time for a real deep-soaking, heavy-sudsing bath. So, we sometimes resort to the famous “snowbath.” Observe.
It’s been a couple of months since we got our Therapaws mat from Soar Pet Products as an experiment for Ginko’s arthritis. Since he had a major swelling/pain flair up right after New Year’s Eve, I’m not sure we’ve had the chance to give it any kind of quasi-scientific go.
I shot a little video earlier this week of Lilly and Ginko playing chase and jaw wrestling games. For those who know Lilly’s noisy play style and stunted social skills, I’ll ask you to pay attention to how quiet this particular play session is. Ginko does many things to ensure Lilly continues to play, which is very smart and polite of him, I think.
Saturday, I caught up on my dog grooming duties. Most weeks that means Lilly and only Lilly, but I decided I’d attempt to trim Ginko’s front toenails. With a muzzle and enough cheese, I can occasionally get him to cooperate. Just as I imagined myself drafting a victory blog post, our celebratory dog training jackpot went terribly wrong.
Some days, my brain buzzes with larger, more philosophical sides to dog training. In part, this happens because of items I see in dog world news such as this dog training summit. At some point soon, I may rant a bit on that very topic since I’m not shy about the fact that I’m no fan of “He Who Shall Not Be Named.” But, today, I wanted to share a distinction I think will help.
Answer me this: When your dog responds to cues or offers default behaviors or just generally behaves like a civilized canine citizen, do you feel a sense of power or pride?
Based on discussions with my dog writer & dog blogger friends, I’ve began to wonder … just how many dogs does it take before you (or anyone) truly knows anything about anything when it comes to dogs.
