Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Don't Project – Be The Dog

By

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but there are some blogs that I just can’t wait to read.  When I sign into my google reader I go straight for those blogs.  Of course I won’t tell you which ones I read first, because that would be like telling one of your kids that you liked them better than the other. 🙂

I’m going to go on record right now saying, I want to be your favorite blog in your google reader, and I plan on working hard to make it so.

I’m loving the “Be The Dog” slogan, that’s all I’ve thought about since yesterday.  There are so many lessons we can learn from our dogs, not least of which is not to project what is going to happen, but to live in the now.

We all know dogs are not linear thinkers, they do not have the capabilities of projecting (or anticipating if you will) what will happen next.

There have been a couple of times while out walking where I’ve lost Sampson.   Usually it is because he has seen or smelled something and run off to investigate.  In the meantime I have continued walking but Sampson doesn’t understand the concept that I was here and now I’m there.  He cannot project where I will be upon his return.  He only knows where I was when he left me.  Sampson lives in the now.

As you know Delilah has run off on me a number of times, the worst (for me) being the day she got stuck under someone’s air conditioner. Delilah does not project the outcome when she runs off.  All she knows is there is something far more exciting than whatever it is that I have in my treat bag.  She does not project that if she runs off, on our next walk she will be on leash and not allowed those freedoms.  Delilah lives in the now.

We need to learn to live in the now.  To not project what will happen if we write that slightly controversial blog post, or submit a query letter to an agent.  You will never know unless you try.

When you are older, sitting on the porch in your rocking chair telling stories to your great-grand children let them be stories about things you’ve accomplished, don’t let them be regrets for not having tried.

If it is something you want to do, just DO IT.  Don’t be afraid about what might happen. Don’t put that kind of restriction on yourself, live in the now.

Don’t Project – Be The Dog.

WTF Wednesday

By

Surprise!  My WTF Wednesday is directed at my own house. 🙂

First at Hubby.

What? (He doesn’t read this blog so he’s not even going to know I’m doing it.  Judge me if you want. I’m rubber you’re glue it bounces off me and sticks to you.)

When I say we’re going to bed, why do you get up and get your snack?

W.T.F? Don’t you know you’re hungry before then?  Or is there something magical in the words we’re going to bed that instantly make you hungry?

I’m not like you, I can’t fall asleep in the blink of an eye.  And you coming to bed a half hour later than Sampson, Delilah and I do is disruptive.

It means everyone shifts positions and if I’ve been lucky enough to fall asleep BEFORE you come in, then I’m woken up and have to get the dogs comfortable again.

Maybe I just have to tell you I’m going to bed a half hour before I’m actually ready.

Yeah, that’s it.  That might remedy the situation.

AND Delilah, you didn’t think you were going to get out of this post did you?

Listen, a lot of dogs don’t even have a pillow on the floor, nevermind a sleep comfort bed.  Just because you didn’t get your spot on the bottom of the bed last night does not give you the right to sit at the end of the bed and bark until someone moves!

W.T.F?

How many times have you heard me say I can’t sleep or seen me get up in the middle of the night and move into the other room?

Really Delilah, I think just once you could have sucked it up and slept up near the head of the bed.

Just once.

Besides you know Sampson is going to get off the bed within an hour or two.

Is it too much to ask for consideration from your fellow bed mates?

Thank you.

Tomorrow you will be returned to your regularly scheduled blog post.

Can’t a girl get a little shut-eye around here?

 

B-O-L-O-G-N-A

By

Just about a week ago I posted about a new command I’m working with Delilah on.  I am calling it check in and all it means is come to me and I will give you  a treat.

I’ve been trying to carry some really tasty treats such as duck and venison.  Yesterday I had some left-over beef bologna in the fridge so I grabbed a few pieces for our walk.

Pay Dirt!

We happened to run into our friend with her dog Brady and Brady’s friend Kodak.  Right about in the center of the woods Sampson, Brady and Kodak darted off after something real or perceived (I’m not sure which.)  Since Delilah was on the 15 foot leash I was hesitant to let her run through the trees dragging the leash.  I decided to take a chance and let her off-leash.  I called her to me and unclipped her.

Nothing happened.

I said, “Go ahead, run.”  She stayed right with us.

Not wanting to spend my whole Sunday looking for her, I only kept her off leash for about a minute or so, then I clipped her back on and continued our walk.

It was (IMO) successful and I want to keep her training positive.

Today we had another successful walk, I did drop the leash (accidentally) a couple of times and instead of panicking, I sang “Check in!”

Boom!  She came right to the bologna me.

She also did something else today that she doesn’t usually do.

Our field has had some trouble with teenagers/young adults making campfires.  From the debris we’ve found at the field they are gathering around the fire, drinking alcohol and baking potatoes.

As she is almost always about 15 feet in front of me, she spotted and snagged the potato well before I did.  Of course she picked it up.

I said, drop it, leave it.

She dropped the potato and continued into the woods without missing a beat.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...