Dem Bones, Dem Raw Bones
Mood:  spacey
So I did a stupid thing last night. (wonder how many blogs have that sentence in them...) I was at the grocery store choosing meat for dinner when another customer parallel parked his cart nearby and hailed the butcher. "Yeah, could I get some marrow bones?" and the butcher brought out two white leg bones and cut them in half for the guy- he put them on foam trays, shrink wrapped them and put a meat dept sticker on them. I asked the guy if those were for his dog.

Yes, he said, I have a Westie and an English Springer and these keep them busy for hours.

So, you can just ASK the butcher for bones for your dog? (I am SUCH a Yankee..)

Sure.

and do you have to cook them?

Well, I do, because its easier.

These are Outside Bones, aren't they? I asked envisioning Reilly having the time of her life chewing up a bone and leaving a sluglike trail of bone goo in my house.

Oh, yes!

The butcher came through the swinging doors wheeling a tower of meat trays- "Why I have a big old lab and I just give 'em to him like that."

The customer offered me one of the packs of bones. I thought OK, Rei would like this, and I have always been a bit suspicious of the brown crumbly stuff on the store bones. Caramel color, maltodextrin or whatever....here were fresh natural bones right from the freezer. No added anything. I thought of all the yucky things dogs chew, and all the nasty cow bones our old dog Fred used to bring out of the woods. This seemed a healthier, natural thing. We went home and I gave my grateful pooch a 5 inch tube of bone and marrow with a little bit of yucky tendon attached- yes, you go outside and enjoy your Yucky Bone!

She chomped and chewed and gnawed for about an hour and a half. It got dark, Jeff came home, and she came inside. I took the bone- even yuckier now becasue it had bits of grass and soil on it- rised it off, wrapped it in a plastic grocery bag and tucked in discreetly in the fridge. Rather hygenically, I thought.

Rei walked around the kitchen for a minute or two and began to stagger a little, she dropped her butt down and seemed weak. She looked miserable and went by the door and sat very glum. This being very unlike my dog, who either stands or lays down, (she thinks sitting is a "trick" and only does it for treats) I took her out on leash. She immediately squatted and crept weakly around the back yard, looking for someplace comfy- I allowed her a long lead to see what she wanted to do, and to my distress she circled next to the brush pile and nudged her head under the sticks. She crawled under the brush and lay down. In the cold dark night. I sat beside her. Obviously sick, did she think she was going to die?

I petted her head and mane and I thought about how she doesn't actually like to be petted, that it probably gave her no comfort and possibly annoyed her. I thought about how dogs in pain can bite if they are frightened or annoyed. She did neither. She was very sick and weak and weary. I sat with her and felt sad and stupid for giving her a raw bone. I could not believe that a bone could make her sick this quickly. Why did I give it her? Betrayed by a would be treasured prize, I made my dog sick. I had no idea how sick- a little sick? She isnt even three years old yet, I thought, way to be a good dog mom.

I noticed then that she picked up her head and lifted her ears a little, looking over at Alan's house. I felt better, she was not SO miserable. I asked her to get up and she didnt so I resolved to carry her inside. When I put myhands under her belly she stood and walked inside with me. We lay some towels in the kitchen and I sat with her, I asked her to lay down on the towel and she did.

Our vet was still open till 8pm, so I called and the receptionist said that they had no appointments till 3pm tomorrow, but she'd ask a tech about what to look for. (short answer: Raw bones= bad due to salmonella, and unecessary to take the risk. Look for major ejection of contents, either end.) I thought about how quickly I get sick after eating suspect food. Maybe its not so odd for Rei to get sick so quickly. While I was on hold, Rei gave up the entire contents of her gastronomic day...and began to feel better! She puked one more time and was perky and playful. Kindof like No-Face in Spirited Away...except not angry.

I feel very lucky. (Not AS lucky as the time she pooped out a 2 inch sewing pin I did not know she ate- THAT could have been a disaster. One of Reilly's spaniel friends ate a rubber snake that his owner said never reappeared on the flip side. hmmm...) I tossed out the bones. I did not even feel like cooking the other one to try again. Lets just take a break and be happy with what we have. Probably cooking them is fine, and probably many of the bones the dogs ran around with when I was a child were well-picked apart by the time the dogs got them. Or maybe the dogs felt sick and took care of it themselves and I never noticed. I know some people feed their dogs a raw diet, so I can't say its awful and wrong and a bad idea, but its just not what Rei and I are going to do right now. She does very well on her dry dog food- she is fit and trim and her eyes are bright. Her coat is soft and shiny and she is strong and active. Ans as dogs go, she actually smells pretty neutral.

Chasmic Thing
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: b52s
Today I had to drop a paper off at Raye's class- she forgot her journal topic notes that she wrote, so in order to avoid any reason to have difficulty in her journal writing, Rei and I stopped to drop them off and decided to continue on to Sutton and walk at Purgatory Chasm today instead of the field. I figured we'd walk the perimeter loop and avoid the chasm itself since it was certainly all wet at the bottom and very likely icy in spots still- this being a deep shady gorge in Massachusetts in February and all.

We began all right and even though there was nobody else there, I imagined as we walked along that some park ranger would happen by on patrol and that his pleasure of seeing me with a baggie as a person who picks up after their dog would outweigh my technical foul of her being off-leash. But this did not happen. Purgatory Chasm is full of city kids bussed in for field trips in the summer, but in February it is as dead as its name implies.

At the far southern end of the Chasm, the loop path is intersected by the trail that comes out of the chasm floor. My intention was to jettison my baggie in the trash can there- sort of like discovering a shining gas lamppost in the middle of the forest- and continue on the perimeter path, but Rei went up the chasm path and looked back.

Well? Ya coming, or what?

So I said sure and followed her. It was very wet and she ranged ahead and would appear on top of a rock, over my head looking down at me- I'd say "Hey there, you big brave dog! Whatcha doing up there?" and she'd run back down the slopey side she came up and meet me on that side when I came around in my slow human way. She kept going in and seemed rather intent on the trail and somewhat nervous. I know she finds scrambling on difficult parts of the chasm scary, so I have not asked her to go this way in over a year. Sortof gave up on it, because Rei and I have a deal that I won't ask her to do scary things that aren't necessary.

When the path began to get tough, she proceeded, and realizing that she had willingly gone farther in the gorge than in the recent past, I gave her a small treat. Good girl- you are so brave! We continued and the scrambling got more tricky with holes between rocks or narrow spots. I think the ice in the chasm levelled some areas out and filled some otherwise scary holes between rocks.

Finally we got to a spot that Rei was afraid to go on. It was very close to the top end, and some of the stages we came up would be harder to go down if we turned back. I went ahead of her and called her along. I showed her how I went. She sniffed and looked at me longingly and put her ears back in concern. I want to go with you, but this is really scary for me. I showed her treats and gently, calmly encouraged her if she lowered her head and looked for a foothold. She wanted to come but was afraid. I went back and put my body over the hole that was closest to her and stroked her mane. We talked. Thinking she might be emboldened by the control of a leash-walk style situation, I put on her leash. She looked at the rocks but did not go. It seemed like we had been sitting there a while, so I gave her a tug. She pulled back in fright and I pulled back and then I said to myself- "Hey!- this isn't our deal. We don't DO this, remember?" and I let the leash slack. It was more frightening, and more dangerous to get into leash tugging and it did not build trust, it was bossy and created fear and mistrust. I apologized and told her to wait, I gave her a cookie.

Luckily dogs are good forgivers, and in a few minutes I was able to coax her across that scary place and I praised and cookied her. She trotted ahead to the next area, and paused for a drink. I led her across some ice - no leash- and we had to climb another jumble of boulders that seemed very frightening to her. It reminded me about how running up and down the stairs at home is fine on two legs but if I went down the stairs hands-first on 4 legs when I was a child it is quite scary to have your face pointing down like that.

Rei whined and would not go the way I had come. This way was more tricky than the last sticky place, so Rei chose to try a higher route up the chasm wall. I went back to where she was and cookied her, and we went up her new way together. It was very high and I might have been able to climb even a little farther using roots and got over the lip of the chasm to the top side, but that seemed a bit insane for a large non-primate. I could see the car from here. I showed Rei the car.

I regretted permitting the route choice. She had to come over the top of a triangle rock to a flat place on the other side. I stood there and would hold her from going too far down onto the soil- it was like a step. I remembered that she had done this twice before as a puppy and as a younger dog. I considered that it might have been bad leadership to put her in this position, to ask her do something so scary, and when the answer could not safely be NO.

Then I thought, well... leadership happens when leadership is required, and she needs to trust me right now that even if something is scary that I will not let her get hurt. She put her paws on the top of the rock, I gave her two small treats. Good girl, you can do it, Rei!

I asked her to come on over and I placed my body in front of the scenery so all she could see was me and the landing spot. A small space. She came all the way over and I held her up so her momentum (she is a long-legged 72- lb dog) would not carry her too far down the other side. I treated her again and turned to show her the way down to the next landing. She followed and I gave her several cookies and told her what a brave, and safe dog she is. She led me out the rest of the way and then we fooled around on level areas for a while so she could forget the scary part. We went to the car, had cookies and a quick stop at petsmart for a special new bone and home.

Another shopper visited Reilly and told me her body shape was like a great dane. I admitted that she did have big feet as well. She said her neighbor's dog was also brindle, but that it was a ....hmmm....not a bulldog...what are they called? a pitbull! I told her I am often asked if Rei is a pitbull and she scoffed. No! They are much shorter and wider. She said her neighbor's dog was the sweetest thing. I said I figured Reilly is very well mixed and I love her because she is a Good dog.

I will not ask her to climb the chasm again, and I probably will call her away if she wants to go in there again. I think the far lower end is fun for her but I need to identify the point where we have to turn back before turning back becomes scary. the three times I have hiked the chasm with her we have always gone up it, never down, which is much scarier for humans as well. I don't think she really means to challenge herself in this way, and while I am glad she did the whole thing under her own steam and by her own will- no leash dragging, no carrying- and I am glad she trusted me despite her fear, I think a good leader chooses the route that wont scare anybody. or at least not beyond their ability to trust you again.

not unlike choosing movies for the family.

Thermometer
Mood:  cool
Topic: Ma Nature
It's a Thermometer Day- rain is misting and freezing, coating every tiny thing with ice on all sides. The field was crunchy and all the tufts of weeds gone by are coated in ice, like themometers with a thin tan mercury thread. My boots brush against the long grass and the ice shatters and kicks ahead of me like little beads and shards. Its damp and raw and dark. Rei hunts, and the mist forms droplets on her fur. We met McTavish and Duncan today, and the dogs ran around a little bit, but everything is crunchy for barefoot creatures and the mist gets soakey. It was a short hike today, now we are home. I am having hot mango tea in a well lit studio, dry and warm whiel Rei curls in her dog bed. She did not get a lot of exercise, so we'll have to play rough later- catch, tug, pouncing on the big ball. But first I'll get some music going and do a bit of work.

Happy Year of The Dog!
Mood:  party time!

In the circle there is my Reilly drawing painted on the backplate of my goalie mask. But today it makes a good banner for Lunar New Year!

Happy Day all you Dogs! I will not write too much today because I know I am a "Boar."

Boars: "You are a splendid companion, an intellectual with a very strong need to set difficult goals and carry them out. You are sincere, tolerant, and honest but by expecting the same from others, you are incredibly naiive."

Naiive? - Oh, well! :) at least I am a splendid companion! My dear sister is a Snake, and at least according to restaurant placemats, we are opposites and should avoid each other...sorry, Laura! ;)

Jeff is a Dog: "The Dog will never let you down. Born under this sign you are honest, and faithful to those you love. You are plagued by constant worry, a sharp tongue, and a tendency to be a fault finder, however. You would make an excellent businessman, activist, teacher, or secret agent."

hmmm...Jeff a secret agent? What do you think, Reilly?

Who you callin a CUR?
Now Playing: Jesse's Girl?
Topic: kinds of dogues
How about a Mountain Cur? That's what Kaylee Ann's mother said when she saw photos of Reilly... I googled mountain curs and they do look like Reilly- those with tails anyway. Before we get all excited about the term 'cur' - let it be known that cur people are put off that it is used in a derogatory way, like 'mongrel' and 'mutt', and instead they see it as a type. (This is not unlike the way the general public tosses the term 'pitbull' around, which - much to Bully Breed people's understandable frustation- is unfortunately code these days for "unpredictably violent dog that will eat my dog or my child at any second" - which is why I get bent out of shape when people ask me if Rei "has pit in her." They are not asking if she has American Staffordshire Terrier or APBT behind her. She may or may not, but it wouldn't matter either way because the answer to what they are really asking is "no, this large stripey dog doesn't bite." Its the wrong question, using the wrong words.)

Mountain Curs-- Basically a hound type, descended from well mixed dogs- indian dogs and some "brindles brought by explorers"- its rather vague, but then so is Reilly. Mountain Curs are Appalachian all-purpose dogs, "varmint hunters" to quote one site. Rei is certainly a varmint hunter: rodents, snakes but she'd grab squirrells and rabbits too if she could, but what dog wouldn't? Mcs have thicker coats than is typical with hounds- and Rei does. Significantly, they are commonly brindle- and they are a hound with small high-set ears. Take a spin through the hound group- they are all quite long in the ears.

At any rate, these dogs seem to be of fairly well -mixed less-human-selected (more dog-and-environment-selected) lineage to a certain point. Why not include another mixed-up dog sharing MC traits? If it walks like a duck...

It seems that this breed- not recognized by the AKC- focuses on performance more than appearance, like many working class dogs. They also have a breeding association, and a written breed standrad, declaring champions of ther breed, logging lineages like the AKC would if they recognized them.

Would they want the AKC to recognize them? I was speaking to a border collie person once that lamented recognition because the dogs had previously bred by selecting for intelligence and work-performance traits, not caring about appearance, and that recognition can ruin a breed by controlling it too rigidly or by selecting for appearance over less obvious, but actually more critical traits.

Beagles show in 13 inch and 15 inch versions. Thats two inches. It seems rather contrived to me, AND even more so because beagles used to be even smaller- pocket dogs. I dont know if their field titles are also separated that way. I coudl seek otu more education onthe matter of showing dogs, but I suppose in the end I am willing to just take it as it is.

Are breeds sometimes in development? Dan, Dan, Harmonica Man will tell you about how miniature schnauzers are schauzers bred with terriers, and are not actually smaller versions of the giant schnauzer. At some point was it frowned upon to cross these dogs?

Will we someday see Labradoodles get recognition? If breeds are to create dogs to suit a specific job- whether it be warming your toes, guarding your stuff, or holding a bear while you run up with a spear- and if dogs suffer from not having jobs in this day in this country, then maybe breeding for such modern convenience traits as less-allergenic, less shedding and more lovey-dovey is what our time is calling for? Most dog owners don't hunt with dogs anymore, we just like the way they look or their temperament. Big sporting breeds with toy dog jobs.

Many of us like biggish dogs, because they more on our own scale. more a pal to josh with than a baby to dote on. We know they need lots of exercise and lots of room, so exercising the dog becomes a specific event. I like exercising my dog- its not just xercising Rei, it exercising both of us, and getting fresh air and taking time to reflect and observe. If I had a Pekingese, I'd want him to go hiking too, but I guess one has to be alert to overexerting the toy dogs. So you join up with a dog that suits you, hopefully. I don't think there are any large toy dogs, but if there were, it might suit the current lives of many people better. It is more wrong to specifically breed a big dog with toy dog traits and needs or is it more wrong to have big sporting-type dogs suffer from unemployment and the consequences that their pent-up behavior results in for them? Midnight being chained in the yard, chewing on the porch, wild on the leash and not getting what he needs, being blamed for his behavior and eventually, possibly rehomed or euthanized. A large toy dog in theory at least might not "misbehave" enough to get himself kicked out of a family that can't/doesn't properly provide for a big athletic pup's needs.

What about gentle giant dogs such as mastiffs? They are not field dogs, they are stay at home dogs on Buddy-Scale, not baby-scale. I think a lot of people are intimidated by such huge dogs though. A giant Pug- Pugzilla!- I do not know mastiffs well enough to say if they actually provide the clown factor of small dogs in sufficient quantity. I suspect a manor-guarding dog would not be too goofy and still keep his aura of guarding.

I don't know, just thinking...

Veterinary Revisited
Now Playing: No Reply
Topic: Cats
Rei and I met our veterinarian neighbor while out for a walk today, and I told her about my experience with Loki and her bladder sludge problem, specifically about my dissatisfaction that it took hundreds of dollars worth of testing to discover she needed a different catfood. Donna pointed out that its fortunate that her problem was not as serious as the expenditure, and that clients should not be dissatisfied that their cats don't have a more proportionally serious problem just because the diagnosis cost so much. This is true, I admit- I was really afraid the diagnosis would point to diabetes for Loki, and I am very glad it wasn't. She said that simply trying the cat food would not have been a proper choice upon discovery of crystals in the u/a, due to Loki's age- that it would be neglectful of the vets to not rule out kidney issues, diabetes and liver function in cats her age (12) presented with these symptoms. So I retract my dissatisfaction with her vet. I continued that Finn had had urinary crystals as a kitten and not since- that I was keeping him on regular cat food and not sharing Loki's food primarily because her new food is expensive. She explained that when Finn was a kitten, commercial cat foods were composed such that cats tended to have struvite crystals. In response to that, all the cat foods adjusted their ash and magnesium content to create a pH that would dissolve those crystals. Then vets began to see these other crystals that begin with o- which is what Loki has accumulated- due to everybody having such a high pH in their system to prevent struvite crystals, this new pH was conducive to the formation of O-crystals. due to this, Donna said it would not be a good idea to let Finn eat Loki's food. Essentially, it was not the testing that was wrong at the vets, but it was the ability to explain this to me logically that was lacking. Either way, I am glad that both my old cats are healthy.

more dog stuff
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: Gotta Knock a Little Harder
Topic: kinds of dogues
I think it is important for me to 'get over' my hangup over whatever Rei is. Actually its not that whatever she may be will have any effect on my relationship with her. If it were to turn out that she is actually part alligator, well, I KNOW Reilly and I will still wrestle with her. I know she can control her jaws and claws.

The hangup rests on my discomfort about what other people may assume about Reilly based on her type. And I dont like people thinking she'd be any way other than what they see. She is of indistinct parentage- would it be any different if I had a doberman pinscher? Many people are afraid of them and shepherds. Their owners have to be okay with other people being afraid of their dogs for no reason. I can do that too.

I wonder what would really happen if I responded to the familiar question with "We dont know- maybe lab-hound-pit?"
If I offered pit as a possibility, would people react as badly as I think?

I need to talk with people who are better dog-publicists than I am.
----

We walked on the golf course this morning, an inch of sticky snow clung to all the highest twigs on the trees and caught the sun. It's pretty. I didnt bring the camera because we felt like walking on after Raye got on the School Bus and didn't stop at home. I unleashed Rei when we got to the green and we walked on through the snow. I realized after a while how quiet we are walking, that we stick together. That I can speak to her in a conversational tone and she will come to me. No shouting necessary.

I think about how with one dog, its me and Rei, and we know what each other is doing and there is no other person or dog to pay attention to. With two dogs I lose a bit of my connection with Rei. I still love having guest dogs, but I don't feel the need to get a second dog as much to keep her company. She has me, and she has dog time at the field. She seems pretty happy. She gets visits from her cousins, and other guest dogs, and we can go together to the bank and the store and to visit others.

I watched how Rei's footprints in the snow make a smooth line that zigzags- she checks the edge of the woods, she turns to look at me, then she loops out a bit and looks away before she checks the woods again. The deer tracks are less smooth, they are not trotting around on patrol. They are wary, and their lines show it.

We looped around and came back to the chain where we started. I am feeling very confident in Rei because she has given me attention with only a gentle ask from me. I decide that I will not leash her on the dirt road. This is not dangerous because it is a dead end road and all the cars have gone to school and work by now. I wonder if she will stay with me or go bounding into peoples yards. I decide to take advantage of the momentum from our golf walk and just follow her. She knows we are going home.

She is ahead of me and stops in at the Puppy House where we visited Timber yesterday. She sniffs and as I pass their driveway, looks at me. "that's Timber's house," I say softly- she has excellent hearing." He's not out right now... Let's go...":) and she says "OKAY!" and trots to me, past me. I tell her she's a good dog, and she looks at me, so I give her a tiny cookie. We go on together. She turns at our road, and I am pleased.

At another place, she checks on a flag she placed yesterday, and investigates a neighbor's woodpile for chipmunks. This is reasonable dog behavior. I am okay with that. I am getting past her now though. I call to her softly- I am giving her a test. She looks but doesn't come. I give her a minute. She seems to be walking on, sniffing, but it doesn't really FEEL like she is ignoring me. She pees, looks at me and comes running. I am very proud of her. It seems that at least under these minimally distracting circumstances that she is connected to me and we need only minimal voice contact to stick together. It may be very different with shouting kids and cars. I bet she can do this at the dog field on a saturday morning with all the other dogs around. Maybe we can build up to this in more challenging areas.

The connection can be broken my her chasing a rabbit, or by me blabbing with other people. If we are both attentive, we have a really good connection. I have been reading a book, "Bones would rain from the Sky" about the connection between us. It can easily be about me and Rei or me and my husband or daughter, but the premise is about people and their animals. Its all relationships. I am reading it slowly and thinking as i go.
-----------------

Other recent reads: Pack of Two- this is all about women and their dogs (mostly women)- its about how a dog's life has changed from our grandparents' days, and the difference between the uncomplicated relationship a dog can offer vs the complicated tangled relationhips we often have with other humans: spouses, kids. Very good! Reflective and truthful. On one hand I think it would be very good for my husband to read and on the other hand i think it may be too truthful.

The Social lives of Dogs- Oh, if only we could live up to the ideals of Elizabeth Marshall Thomas. I like her books, and I own three of them, I learned a lot from her writing and observation. I DO believe that dogs are intelligent souls and that they have something to say. I appreciate that she believes that dogs can take care of themselves and should be allowed to live without excessive human intrusion and over-training, choosing for themselves what to do today and with whom. But I can't live up to it. Even in my rural town, I cannot let Rei wander the neighborhood as she chooses anymore (though my childhood dog Fred did) and expect that she will not find the d-con in the neighbors' garage, the antifreeze under someones car, or the chicken wings in the trash. I cannot promise she won't chase cats, or dig up the 9th green or borrow and chew up neighbor kids' toys. I don't know if other people will think she is a hyena and shoot her.

I think you do what you can though. She gets lots of off-leash social dog time, social human time, with me. She is safe and clean, and happy. She does not seem to desire a life with just the dogs or all alone, ranging. She gets a lot of good stuff by being my sidekick. I hope as I take time to REALLY understand her better that we are both very complete in our time together.

I am not sure that I buy her argument that male dogs should have vasectomies- the reason being that they can still be very male without fathering puppies. Most of the male dogs I know are neutered and none of them seem confused, lost, less robust, less energetic or poorly socialised. Neutered dogs fight, too. One dog often at the field who was intact often fought the others. Yet at the dog show many male dogs were in close quarters and showed not the slightest interest in stacking up the competition, bluffing, dominating or anything. I just dont have enough info personally to say, "of course! this makes perfect sense."

TidBits
Mood:  energetic
-We went to PetSmart today, being Saturday there were many more people and dogs than usual. We met a greyhound on the way in, and the dog's owners drew him to the side. It seemed they did not want the dogs to visit, and that's okay, but since I often wonder if Reilly has some greyhound in her, I looked at the dogs in proximity. The grey was a few inches taller, and a much longer thinner tail. His head was very narrow, I'd say as long as Rei's head but half to 2/3s as wide. He seemed uneasy. We proceeded in and got our biscuits and cat litter and waited in line to check out, a small boston-terrier colored french bulldog was behind us, his eyes looking sideways in some sort of reverse-cross-eyed spacey stare. We let the dogs sniff nicely, and the bulldog couple asked what kind of dog Reilly was, that her coat was interesting. I said I didnt know, that she was from the shelter- feeling less sure that Rei was half greyhound than ever before. "Well she looks like she's got at least SOME pit in her..." said the man, and as if on cue Rei showed her teeth at the little bulldog who was straining to sniff her face. The man swept down to scoop up his dog. Rei turned to me and I said, "Well, when she makes THAT face she looks like she's got pit in her." Maybe she does, but I am not sure that knowing that would make announcing that to inquiring minds very advisable, although I DO think that is exactly the question they are asking circuitously.

Another trip to the pet shop- Especially For Pets- a man with a 10 week old Bichon Frise puppy (cute as a button- no! actually cute as TWO buttons...) exclaimed that Rei looked like she had some Ridgeback in her. I have heard that before too, though I don't know what it is about her that makes people say it.

If I were to determine Rei's type by the most popular spoken guesses of people, she'd be a ridgeback-lab-greyhound. If by the implied guesses of other people, she's a pit-lab mix. Even her vet would not go on record as to what she seems like- "Just tell people you don't know- she's a GOOD dog, that's all."

Here is my Good Dog, hunting voles- she has her mouth open so she can smell them better. Apparently dogs have a "vomeronasal" organ that has an intake in their palate somewhere--

The weather has been springlike- 50-60 degrees and all our snow and ice has melted. Rei and I were in the sun, on a hillside in the field, she was digging after voles, sniffing and biting out roots and grass nests. The soil smelled wonderful, and the sun made her coat feel so warm to touch. We met no other dogs that day, but sitting on the hill and letting her dig was time very well spent.

I have been reading some books (to be detailed later) that are getting me to think about my connection to Rei and the ways that I have gone ahead rather ill-advisedly- being tougher with her than I needed to be, possibly causing her to made meek and confused. By adjusting my patience and listening to her more, I am slowly peeking into a better understanding and communication with her.

Today we met all Rei's friends at the field:

Cooper is the yellow lab up top, Fitzy is the irish setter going to the right. Bandit is white with a black head, then there's Reilly tasting a large stick that Hobey is carrying. Rei wrestles with Hobey and Bandit. All of them are Good Dogs.

more on recent revelations in dog matters later.

Teddy Ball
Mood:  lucky
Now Playing: snow day
Topic: Reilly
Rei is curled up asleep on her bed in my studio. She is curled in a round ball, and tucked in the space under her neck and enclosed by her foreleg is her fleecey ball. Like a teddy bear. She looks pretty happy. Her eyes are rollng around beneath their lids, her muscles twitch now and then. She is dreaming, cuddling her ball.

It seems weird that a dog would have a teddy bear, but she does. It can be a different toy, but always something round and fleecey. She always greets anyone coming through the door with her fleecy toy in her mouth, even barking around it Wrlph! Wrlph! Is it a security blanket? Is she a canine Linus? Is she merely showing some predatory thing by presenting soft toys to us? Is she showng us her retriever heritage by carrying a toy on walks? around the house, upstairs to bed?

The puppy book said that after a while your dog will let you know what toys to stock. It said to keep many of the same type of toy. At the time I thought that seemed excessive, after all my childhood dog, Fred, didnt have any toys. My dad gave her such a scare when he caught her chewing up our fisher price farm animals that for the rest of her days you could not even give her a rawhide to chew. She would take it politely and drop it. No, thank you.

For Reilly, all the rubber and rope toys have been left by the wayside. she likes Fleecey toys, nylabones, her fleecey tug, and her kong ball (but only because it delivers peanut butter, treats or toothpaste). Squeaky vinyl dinosaur- nope. Knotted rope- no thanks. Her soft rat, flecce balls, plush color ball and cured beef tendons are what she likes. Even Canvas Kitty- whom we call the Bad Guy, so we can still call our real cats Kitty- is second to the furrier toys. Canvas tug is good, but she's happy to play tug o war with a stuffed animal, too.

know thy dog.

This cuddling of the ball is interesting to me because it is like hugging, and i just finished reading a book that says hugging is a primate behavior that dogs don't really like. On second glance it may make sense though- she doesn't love the ball in an endearing way: possibly it is her 'prey' and she can enclose it, and possess it, she is the master of it. She does not want me to enclose or possess her, to envelop her, dominate her. We are hiking buddies, off leash and free.

Yesterday we hiked at the golf course in the snow. It was deep heavy snow that eventually began to stick to my snowshoes. which is less fun. It is neat to walk a snow covered golf course, the sand traps and mounds make the terrain interesting. The cattails are all that indicate the water hazards.

The day before we walked quite far, down the golf course to the woods, to the powerlines, along the powerlines to an empty field entirely surrounded by woods. It must be cut by someone or it'd all be trees. Yet it is not adjacent to any farm. The powerlines run across it, and its edges are bordered by old stonewalls and brush. It is a secret hayfield. When I began to feel that we had been away long enough we headed back home along the powerlines and discovered a well-cut path along a stone wall that led into the woods behind the houses on Keith hill. It is remarkable just how covered with stonewalls this area is, and noone remembers what each divided section was. There is a book Stone By Stone about NE stone walls that I should really pick up. Here is Rei on what looks like a ski hill, but is actually the 5th green.

Field notes
Mood:  special
Now Playing: Here's to the Hungarian!- Strauss
Topic: kinds of dogues
This New Year's Day we wore to a dry fluffy blanket of snow- 2-3 inches of easy shovelling, pretty department store snow hanging in tiny cups in the crooks of trees. Very pretty, quiet and erasing everything on the ground- a fresh sheet. The old snow had mostly melted away but in the front yard on the northern shady side of our house there were thin plates of hard snow that melted down to show the veins of mouse tunnels that had been under there all along. All filled in now, but good whuffling for Rei. Like when you hide a toy under a blanket for a cat or dog and squeak it for them to pounce on, or to dive under the edge of the blanket after it. Fun for predatory pets.

I spent 2 hours stumping around the field yesterday and again today. Yesterday we met Kevin Number One, K2, Peter, Tessa's family- all theirs are good dogs Reilly has known just about her whole life and they had a lot of fun. Our group met a Great Pyrenees pup- about 1 year old and easily 100 pounds. His name is Rolly and he's a playful submissive guy. He's got huge paws with extra dew claws, in fact his back paws looked like mittens. Since we had never seen a Pyr at the field before, we stood around introducing our dogs and asking about the Pyr. Any crowd including people who don't know us already will ask some guaranteed questions while we stand around watching the dogs run: Politely: Who are the cute springers? then with Caution: Now what kind is that stripey dog? ( It is always "NOW, What kind is that stripey dog?" Always "now,") and when it is accepted to the general, if not complete, satisfaction that she may not be a pitbull after all: what an interesting/beautiful/strange-looking coat! then back to more probing but more innocent questions: Is Fitz REALLY an Irish setter? Why is she so small?

Shaggy white, enormous Rolly sniffed and grovelled before Reilly, but when he moved his face toward hers she showed her teeth. She moved away to sniff or pee or play with another dog, and he followed her everywhere. She continued to show her teeth when he faced her and tell him to buzz off. As humans, it seems so easy- Poor Rolly! He's a big cutie and wants to play with Reilly so badly, but she rebuffs him. He was not being dominant, he was not pushing her, he was not trying to put a paw over her, just displaying submission and playful bows. Reilly did not want to play with him and ignored him until he got close enough to ask her again, then teeth. We stood around talking long enough for Rei to just keep moving away, and ignore him to play with Cody the Basset. When Rei moved around a corner where I couldnt see her, Rolly in tow, I called her back and gave her a tidbit for a good recall. Rolly followed her in, but since the cookies are tiny, Reilly was finished when he got here. She did not want him to get close to me and "her" treats and she turned to face him and chuffed, showing her teeth. He dropped into a submissive showing-the-belly posture instantly, and Rei stood by his great head, showing her teeth while he waved his paws in the air. Rolly's parents had seen enough of Reilly's teeth though and picked up the Pyr's leash. I called Rei and our gang went on its way and the Pyr Family went the way they had been going.

I imagined that their conversation about this time may likely have been something like "Did you see how that brindle dog kept showing her teeth at him? We got out of there just in time. Greyhound-labrador my foot!" The woman in that fam had told us that she had previously had a golden retriever, and I wondered how much she knew about less-human-centric dogs and their interactions.

Given that Rei has been a bit surly with new dogs lately, maybe she is a bit cranky. The holidays have been very much out-of-routine and she doesn;t have me all to herself nor has she had the predictable routine she had come to expect. I think she and I were better-connected when we had our usual routine and lots of time alone together. One more day of the whole family here and its back to school and work and perhaps Rei will feel more easygoing again.

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In Elizabeth Marshall Thomas' book the Secret Life of Dogs she talks about the dog-dog relations among her huskies, I am wondering today how well her pack formation and structure would have worked if instead of mostly huskies she had mostly Lhasa apsos or greyhounds. What variations would appear? It is easier on the imagination to picture all those huskies having a pack, but harder to picture it with other breed groups.
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Today Rei played with many of her old gang: Hobey, Hera, the springers. She ran a lot and seemed very joyful. On the last crossing she must have become tired because she walked right at heel- I could not see her with the dogs, but she was right there behind me the whole time. Good dog. Rei and I had been there about 45 minutes before the others, but the real action started when the other dogs arrived and began the great chasing. Watching them run, I think that one dog wants to be chased, and that once whomever is IT is determined, even faster dogs will run behind IT- I know Reilly is faster than Hudson- whom she played with yesterday, but she ran behind him with a smaller hound because Hudson had to remain IT. When Hobey is IT, they chase her and then Reilly and Hera "attack" her if she stops and makes faces. (Hobey makes the BEST gargoyle faces!) If one of the dogs tumbles, skids, biffs, they stop and let her get up and decide if the game is still chase or if it has become wrestling.

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We passed a dog named Bruschi today, bringing to 3 the number of dogs I have met at this field named after New England Patriots players. Along with Brady and Milloy. Perhaps if we get a male pup sometime I will name him Moogy or Neely.