Communicating Part 2….Day Three Hundred, Sixty Four

November 29, 2011 By Jodi

About a month ago I read a post called Friday Fun With Phraseology at Rescued Insanity.

Kristine was sharing phrases her dog Shiva has picked up such as “Ahem” (Hellooo I’m waiting.) Kristine asked if her reader’s dogs had picked up any words they hadn’t been specifically taught.

At that time I commented with “Sometimes I just say, “Eh.” Other times I suck in my breath and make a little “huh” sound; this would be your version of “Ahem.” Lately I just throw my hands up in the air in frustration and look at her and Delilah sits.”

Tonight I discovered that Sampson and Delilah have picked up some words I wasn’t aware of.

First I have a confession.

I love video games. I get in phases where I play video games, a lot. Lately Hubby and I have been playing Donkey Kong Country on the Wii, (something about the Holidays that just scream video games to me.) In this video game there is a little pig stationed in various places in each level. When you reach the little pig (I call him Porky) he waves a flag, this is a check point in the level so if you die and you still have more lives you can start from that point.

Tonight while dinner was cooking Hubby and I snuck in a few minutes on the game. We were at a particularly hard screen and I had just commented to Hubby how I wished we could get to Porky while we still had some lives left, and then I made it to Porky and I said, “Well look who’s here.”

And both dogs jumped up and rushed to the door, and stood there tails wagging, patiently waiting for the non-existent visitor.

The moral of this story is your dogs are learning, even if you think they aren’t. 😉

When She Is Good…..Day Three Hundred, Sixty Three

November 28, 2011 By Jodi

There was a little girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good, she was very, very good, and when she was bad she was horrid.

That’s how I feel about Delilah, like there is no in-between, she is either good or she is bad.

There is no gray, she is either black or she is white. (Stop it, I know she’s chocolate.)

I mean figuratively speaking of course.

Tonight for instance, I didn’t get the opportunity to come home at lunch and take them for a quick walk, so it would have to be a quick around the block after dinner.

I started dinner, but knowing Delilah’s penchant for sticking her face into a pot of pasta water, I covered it and went into the living room, and still the distinct sound of slurping resonated from the kitchen.

Yes, she decided she would drink the dirty dish water from the kitchen sink.

Then after dinner I dropped the container of pumpkin and it spilled all over the bottom of the refrigerator. Since it’s being used for the dogs, I scooped up the bulk of it and plopped it back in the container. Delilah came over to see what had fallen.

“Out” I stated firmly and pointed with my left hand.

She tried to lick the pumpkin off.

Flash forward to our walk when she practically ripped my arm out of its socket trying to get to the dog on the other side of the road and just a few minutes ago she practically tore poor little Bob up just for coming up on the bed.

And then five minutes later, there she is sleepily resting her head upon my knee while I write my blog.

When she is good, she is very, very good and when she is bad….well she is horrid.

Sunday Morning Walks….Day Three Hundred, Sixty Two

November 27, 2011 By Jodi

Our walk this morning was a bit less eventful than yesterday’s walk. :0

We started out in the field. I had loaded my pockets with plastic baggies just in case I came across more animals parts. I was determined to clean them up.

Instead of sticking to our traditional trails I decided to try walking two dogs on the rail trail. Go ahead, you can ask. What the heck was I thinking?

It started out well enough, we pretty much had the trail to ourselves. Sampson was off leash and Delilah was on the 30 footer. Because it’s the rail trail and frequently used by walkers, runners and bicyclists you can see quite a distance in front of you.

Whenever I saw anyone approaching, I would call Sampson to me and leash him, then I would ‘reel’ Delilah in. 🙂 Most of the time when I see anyone approaching, I make the dogs sit until that person has passed.

This is a great test for the dogs because a lot of people walk/run with their dogs on this trail. What I found out today is they will both sit and wait patiently as a dog runs past, even if the dog is pulling against his/her lead trying to reach them.

HOWEVER, if the dog is lunging AND barking, all bets are off.

We met two ladies with a young dog, and the dog was pulling and was very vocal about trying to get to Sampson and Delilah and I was over-powered. 🙁

Thankfully this time I had the sense to drop the leashes so I didn’t get pulled head first into the women. The dog mom handled the situation very well, she didn’t panic, she just kept her dog moving. I apologized profusely and she went on her way.

Shortly after that I’d had enough. Sampson’s leash is an 8 footer, while Delilah’s is much longer. I need to wrap her leash around my arm in order to walk them together comfortably.

As those of you who have more than one dog know, two leashes, one in each hand can be a tad difficult. The dogs switch sides frequently and the leashes (and sometimes dogs) end up getting tangled. With Delilah’s leash wrapped around my arm it’s not exactly easy switching hands!

I took some pictures to try and capture the beauty of a quiet Sunday morning.