Who needs Cody?
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: behave!
After our walk this evening, I unleashed the dogues in the yard, they ran around the side of the house, I figured to the door. When I caught up, they weren't on the porch, so I went inside without them. I visited Jeff and Raye, eating tacos, when Jeff noticed that Rei and Cleo were playing out back. I looked and surely they were- wrestling, pouncing, chasing and rolling. They have not done this before, so this is very exciting.

In the six weeks we had Kaylee, Rei and she did not play. We have had Cleo alone for 10 days and they play. At the field, Cleo began to egg Rei on, and Rei would tell her to stick it. she finally could get Rei to chase and battle, for short periods. I think Rei began to like Cleo more. When I'm outside with them both in the yard, I can throw tennis balls for cleo all day, and Reilly tends to sigh and resign herself to not being included. Today I brought out more toys, and played Tug with Rei while Cleo retrieved balls. Rei was very happy. I don't know if she was ready for this play before now, since she did not do this inside where there are lots of toys already out. Rei wants to play with me alone, Cleo thinks all of us can play.

But when I left them alone outside, I guess Rei felt plucky enough to chase and wrestle with Cleo finally. I stayed out of sight, because when they saw me they stopped and wanted to play with me- Cleo would go get a ball, Reilly would look for treats. They wrestled till they were both panting heavily and burned off all their energy. Now they are both snoozing on the floor, all spent. I am pleased that Rei finally came around.

Cleo is certainly the ideal dog. She practically wears a halo. Some dogs are devils. Reilly is not exactly the ideal dog one imagines when they decide to get a dog, but she is more interesting to know, subtle and complex. Not black or white, but brindle to the bone.
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Brindle jokes on Reilly- we sometimes call her our "Marble Rei"- after the brindle bread, marble rye. This bread is rye swirled with pumpernickel, or in Rei's case, 'Puppernickel.'

Allergies, and the T Touch
Mood:  special
Topic: behave!
Let me get out of the way right off that Lila and Ranger were back in the field the very next day as if nothing had happened. Terriers! Ranger was a rescue dog, and came to his owner with cropped ears that stick up like a horse's ears, Lila was a new puppy and had natural floppy ears. Now one ear is missing a ragged chunk, but its not a huge piece. Indomitable little creatures.

I took a walk with Donna the vet and she explained that allergies are triggered after accumulating a threshhold of allergen. She said that Reilly appears to have seasonal allergies, but that by eliminating other irritants in her life- such as grains in her food- that we might be able to keep her total allergy level lower, and therefore the allergy diet we are feeding her may actually help her manage her seasonal allergies. ( or as one website I read put it, "if you are allergic to 6 things, eliminate 3...")

She may have NO food allergies though. To find out if she does is extremely involved and time consuming- 12 weeks of only dog food. No cookies. No chicken. No rawhides. ONLY one thing. I find myself feeling unexcited about this, because it means I cannot treat my dog the way I want to. IF she does have food allergies, then of course I never want to give her something that will cause her irritation. And she may not care if she has only dog food- she doesn't really care what flavor the box says the cookies have, what the picture on the box is.

She likes to go to the bank and get biscuits from the tellers.
I like to give her beef tendons and freeze-dried liver bits. It makes ME feel good. I am sure it makes her feel good that I am giving her ANYTHING yummy, and she doesnt care what it is. Furthermore, I am sure that she chomps her rawhide rolls and doesn't think about how wonderful I am, but how satisfying it is to chomp on the thing. Treating your dog is not about food, it is about attention and about fulfilling my own desire to dote on her. If my dog is not thrilled about physical affection, and I can't give her treats how can I reward and celebrate with her?

Confession: Pete and I are having a dog affair. He is K2's black lab, and he is more than happy to take all the pats and scratches Reilly resists and leans away from. He seeks me out for it, and he does not want food, he doesnt want to play, he does not want a "relationship." We are not interested in conversation. I want to enjoy a dog and he is happy to be that dog. Rei has seemed jealous occasionally, she has come over for attention, and I gently ruffle her mane. She told Pete to go away once and he barked at her. Its possible that that was that between them. "Your Momma!"

But! What if...Reilly doesnt like petting because her skin is too sensitive due to allergies? Pats are uncomfortable? She loves to play, she loves to hike. I bought a little book by Linda Tellington-Jones called something like "Getting in T-Touch with Your Dog."

I skimmed through it and figured out a few of the T-Touches that sounded relevant. The BEAR T Touch for dogs with sensitive skin, the Ear Slides, the Tarantulas and the Clouded Leopard Touch.

The last time Laura was here we went on a very long hike with the dogs and later at home she noticed early signs that Cleo exhibits when she gets stiff in the legs- sometimes to the point where she'll go lay down and not be able to get up easily. We did not have any of Cleo's bufferin on hand. We let her rest and then I decided I'd give her a rub, which just seems like a good idea for anyone who is sore. I just rubbed her like you do any dog, then I played around with the t-Touches on her, and I figured that since she LOVES pats to begin with, she'd be pretty forgiving if I didn't do them exactly as the book states. Cleo did not mind any of it, and I was able to massage her hips and haunches and pick up her legs and move them all around.

I think somewhere in the book it says something to the effect that you don't have to do massage "right" as long as your dog likes it. I felt very skeptical of all this anyway. The thesis is that by stimulating the skin, you stimulate the neural pathways that arent used that much and by "exercising' all these pathways your dog (and probably anyone who gets massaged) uses more of her total brain infrastructure and can learn better and control her excitement and relaxation better. Some T Touches are supposed to help with all manner of physical and emotional ailments like allergies, injury, residual stress from tail docking. I have no idea if it does at all.

Laura saw Cleo liked all this rubbing and scruffing and how she just sort of melted into this pliable pile of labrador puppy. We'll have to borrow that book, she said as I gently cycled Cleo's back left leg. "Reilly would never let me do this." I said. Cleo is SUCH an easy dog.

I began to use these T-Touches - or whatever I am able to approximate of them, given I have never seen them done in motion, only read in a book- on Reilly in the evenings when she was already relaxed and lying down. She seemed to like this sort of patting. At least, she did not get up and walk away. I stuck with working her back and side, pretty conservative areas I figured she might tolerate. As days went by I began to venture to rubbing her legs but she balked at me touching her paws, and to take the Tarantula rub all the way up her head.

More days went by and I could pick up her back legs and work the muscles near her hip, I can now work her leg the same way I could Cleo's. She makes a sighing sort of growl. content talk. I can rub her achilles tendons and the ones around her little kneecaps, she extends her legs into the rub and lets them loose. I became very impressed that this was the same dog.

I can Tarantula her whole back from tail to eyes, but her nose is still too ticklish. I can- after all the back/side rubs set the tone- work down the muscles in her legs all the way to the feet, which were as ticklish as her nose before. I am working on extending this to her pads by once in a while stroking along the bottoms as if she was swiping my hand. I cannot do the face rubs yet, but she does let me do the ear slides now, even though her ears are scabby from the Tresaderm burn. (which is improving BTW- we are putting aloe on them to help.)

So I feel that she has come quite far in touch allowance and enjoyment. I do not know if it is the proper execution of Tellington Touch methods, because I dont even know if I am doing them correctly, but I certainly think it IS due to just spending time with her ("Gentle Time") and rubbing her on places she doesnt mind at first and gradually adding more. Now after dinner she invites me to play ball or tug with her and after some time of that- sometimes a rather shorter time of play- she just lays down and stretches her legs and stays still. I thought at first she was bored, but I give her a rub and talk to her quietly and I think she is actually ASKING for Rubs.

What remains the same as before is the relatively low (compared to other dogs) frequency with which she gets silly and rolls around for a belly rub, or does a cookie dance. She does not come over and sit with her back to me and lean on me for pats like golden retreivers do. She does not come running over to me for pats like Pete does. But she is enjoying the pats I can give her more. Sometimes I feel like it has taken me SO long to 'get' her. Like I ought to have gotten this all sooner, and still have some very easy things to figure out. I also think that I have put more effort and interest into reaching her than many people might for an incontinent, shy dog that is not very demonstrative. She would not show well in a shelter, so it's a lucky thing she is MY best friend.

She is still no lap dog. Rei and I watched Cesar Milan Friday night, and the woman he was visiting sat in a chair and her big dog came up and put his paws and head all over her, he climbed on her and licked her face and she giggled. Cesar asked her what she thought of this, and she said it was "love." He said it's actually disrespect. Is it disrespect because he does it at all, or only because he does it without invitation? No amount of inviting would get Reilly to climb on me and lick my face. Reilly is also not a dog who wants to be in charge. of anything. Maybe of the cats, but thats it.

So what does that mean? That Rei respects me very much? That she doesn't love me? That she wants me to be a stronger leader, because she knows she doesn't want to be a leader? Would a bossier dog take me over already and the only thing keeping Reilly from acting that 'disrespectful' is her own aversion to the crown? I dont know.

The plan for Rei right now is to keep having Gentle Time, to reapportion our outings into more she and I time, and less pack time at the field. I think pack time is fun for her to a point but also stresses her out after a while. I can tell our connection is better when we spend more time alone than in a large group. Katz on Dogs tells us that adult dogs dont need 'play dates.' I want to try to rebalance this- she has been going to the dog field almost daily for her entire life, and maybe she doesn't need that much super-social time.

Cleo is such an easy dog. Rei is more subtle, and I think she's great.

a friend attacked
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: behave!
Near the beginning of our trip around the field today, we hooked up with our friends and began to go around. We saw "Canine Good Citizen" Del and her owner across by the woods. She was exchanging information with someone, said Tom, who arrived first. There had been a fight. None of us understand why she keeps bringing her dog out at a time she knows many dogs are there. None of us understand why she cannot rehabilitate her dog and none of us understand why she insists on letting her run free in public when she has hurt so many other dogs.

Her husband is a vet and maybe that allays some of her feeling of responsibility since he can stitch them back up again. But that is ridiculous. I often maintain that a good fix is a valuable thing, and far outstrips the damage of many mistakes, but this is not one of them. She knows her dog is aggressive toward other dogs and unpredictable. She has never hurt Reilly, but I do not trust her. I worry because she considers Reilly a 'safe' friend and allows the dog to remain loose, or unleashes her if she sees Reilly and I alone, but I feel uneasy and do not trust her to NOT attack Rei.

We saw Del and her owner return up the hill and the other person come straight back down the middle. It was Dan the Harmonica Man and his schnauzers. We called to him if his dogs were okay, but getting closer saw that his hands were covered in blood. His small black female schnauzer Lila was quickly dripping blood from her ear and it soaked her neck as well. The skin on my arms prickled. Cooper sniffed her and his nose was covered in her blood as well. Dan seemed shaken but businesslike and was taking her to the clinic right now. We were shocked and exclaimed at the running blood and he said that ears are very vascular, which is true, but I don't think I could retain as much composure as he had under the same circumstances. K2 said, Well, what else can you do but get into action? and I remembered other emergencies where I have kept a cool head.

Lila is the smallest usual dog at the field. She is not even noisy, and leaves all the announcements to Amazing Ranger. I supppose one might say that the smaller dog seems like prey to Del, but I don't buy it. Dan says that his dogs ran up to Del and she doesnt like that, but he is just trying to not cause waves. The fact is that Del has a record of aggression to dogs of all sizes, and that her owner is not sufficiently in postion as her leader. The fact is that her owner does not CARE about the consequences of her dog's behavior or respect others of us enough to keep her dog out of range, out of contact or in specific training and is not making it easy for her to be good.

We discussed this roundly and recalled past victims. I do not know what will have to happen for her to stop bringing her dog to a situation in which it feels it must attack and hurt others. Is it worth it to walk there if she is there? We try to avoid her anyway, but as K2 says its a buzz kill to be walking along and spot Del in the field. Dan reported later that Lila is missing a piece of her ear and required stitiches, Ranger had two puncture wounds that were not bleeding- both dogs will be on antibiotics for a week or so. Here's hoping they return to the pack soon and that Del sticks to other situations in which she can control herself.

Reilly Especially
Mood:  cool
Topic: behave!
More experience with the promising shelter dog, Mitchell, showed Laura that he did indeed pass several tests. She got him to sit and to let her handle his paws and so forth. Time spent with him pointed all signs to GO. Her husband Scott agreed to allow a foster dog in the house after all, and this experience revealed things that could only be known by trying it. Playing outside in the yard with Cody and Cleo- A+ wonderful! Going inside, OK! introduction of nylabones - Cody gives Mitch 2 Dewclaws down due to Devil Dog object guarding. Like Kaylee (whom it now occurs to me as I write we called "Kaylee Ann Mitchell" because her foster mother's last name was Mitchell) this guy acted out in the presence of treasure. Laura sensibly and disappointedly brought him and the information that he would transition most successfully to a home with no other dogs back to the shelter. She is going through the same rollercoaster of questions and emotions that I went through around Kaylee, except in a very concentrated amount of time.

There are some things you just can't tell until they are tried. It may be that Mitch will win some dogless person's heart and having only to adjust to indoor family life he can gain confidence and gradually learn his other graces, like sharing. Since his reaction was so similar to Kaylee's, I think this may be common with dogs who spend developmental puppy months in the shelter. The behaviorist I spoke with in the Kaylee Days said that these dogs are not used to having resources at leisure and they guard them and react pretty fiercely- it takes a special kind of effort to rehabilitate them. Project dogs. No matter how well intended your heart may be, your family home may not be the right enviroment to conduct this rehab. Laura has two happy dogs and a home clicking nicely along, I have a dog and a soon-to be 7 year old girl. Both of us are knowledgeable and caring and want to do right things, but we do not have the ideal situations for rehabbing dogs with behavior issues.

So in a way it is disappointing but in another way I feel relief and extra value for the good things I have. I had some important conversations with Jeff, and I do not have to make wild fluctuation from my current Life O' Reilly. I still think 2 dogs could be fun but given the family I already have and love, I think our best odds for success would be by adding a baby puppy rather than a dog with history to this mix. I have promised Jeff that we will not upend our life with more pets for the rest of 2006. We may revisit in spring of 2007. maybe.

It is fun to have Cody and Cleo over, or Scout, and to visit dog friends. It is fun to take Rei everywhere, stores, bank, mom's house for holidays. She can be my sidekick and have lots of fun and privelige. Robin to my Batman. Is it Chrystal and Reilly or Chrys and her dogs? Just thinking.

A slate of hard ice
Mood:  hungry
Topic: behave!
Our snow is thick, grainy, old and hard. It makes for very indistinct tracking, and crummy snowshoeing. SInce it is more ice than snow, I wore the Stabilicers today and felt very grippy going around. Peter- Hobey's Dad- met me with those on earlier this week and noted, "Oo, that's smart! You've got your Ice Walkies on..." british to the bone, our Peter. :)

I am sick- a rotten cold with fever and chills that hit me Thursday evening for a horrible sleep and is still resolving today. I wavered between fighting it and letting it get over with. I succumbed Thursday night and Friday morning (napped) but felt better enough by noon to answer the bell when the dog gang called me out to join them for a holiday beer at the Post Office Pub, known locally as just The Pub. (If you are out for a drink and munchies in my lil'l town, you either go to The Inn or The Pub.) I'm glad I went. Rei stayed home. After a hot cup of spicy chili and a short Sam's seasonal, I went home and slept till 4, back to bed at 8:30 when Jeff left for hockey and woke up feeling lots better today.

Depsite feeling icky, I still had to take Rei out, so we went to the field yesterday and walked with one of her new friends Bandit and an old friend Casey. Casey is a tall golden retriever with an orange coat and pale fluffies in her feathering. She is adored by her dog-mom and dad and is an only child. Her mom calls her Case, Casey and Quesadilla. Bandit is the same gereral size and shape as Reilly, but is white with a few black freckles and two important black spots. One covers his whole head, and the other is around the base of his white tail, which sticks out of the spot like an arrow in a bulls eye. They are both good dogs.

Today I met K2 leaving as I arrived, his dog Pete- whom I call 'Black Pete' the pirate- running to greet me. "Buzz kill on the back stretch," he warned, collecting Pete and Cooper, "Delphy's down there." I thanked him and we took the high path instead. Over the hill we met a new dog, Bailey, a shepherd mix with long floppy ears, a brown/black coat and white spot on his chest. He is young and a big goof, and he and Reilly boxed and chased and wrestled. When she lay down on her belly to eat some snow, he play-bit her rump to get her to play some more. Interestingly, we later met Zeus, whom Bailey tried several times to hump just to get him to play. He did not at any time even put a paw over Reilly's back.

Both dogs are older than Bailey, Zeus is male and not remotely interested in dog hierarchy. He is mostly interested in sticks and balls. He gets humped by several different dogs, even a large female lab, Sophie. I think some dogs are just targets for this play- Reilly's best puppy pal Sawdust was a hump-ee, too. Rei won't let dogs get on her back. Maybe Bailey didn't hump her because he could tell it was NOT cool to do to her, or because she played with him readily in the first place? When she stopped playing, though, he bit her butt and leaped away to get her to play again, not humping. His owner said that Bailey gets time-outs for humping at doggie day care, so I guess it is one of his games. Interesting that he chose a different tool to get Rei to play with him.

Rei shows more teeth than Zeus. When I brought treats out recently, she huffed at Bandit to git-away! from me giving her a treat first. She did not care if I gave him one after her. She huffed at Bailey today and stood up with her paws on me- not allowed!- but I treated Bailey - who sat- and told Rei OFF! and then treated her when she sat. She may be ascended over these dogs, but she still needs to be polite to me.

It is warm today- 43° in the car when I got back from the field. Rain- and lots of it- is forecast for tomorrow which should rinse away a bunch of our old snow and clear the slate. I love snow, but not old grainy icy dirty snow. Let's get rid of this snow and start a fresh coat in the new year.

Something New
Mood:  cool
Topic: behave!
BTW those ice cubes are going to keep going up there till it warms up a bit, or I have a strong reason to put up another icon. Throw another log on the fire...

Visitors, round 2- no dogs this time, but 2 babies. Our friends Kelly and Bev and their sons are visiting for a few days. Reilly has never known baby cries, so I was interested to see how she reacts to the small kids and crying- but nothing shocking. She is happy to see the Ladies (a term Reilly thinks means friendly people who like dogs. It happens that Reilly is very happy to greet women, and more reserved with men. I am told most animals are this way in general.) and she greets the boys with wiggling and sniffs and even a very little kiss. I tell her she is a good dog, and she is.

Baby Logan is only 2 months old and does not sleep through the night. When he awoke crying in the room down the hall with his moms and did not stop, Reilly growled then came to my side of the bed. I scratched her chin and told her it's ok, to go back and have Bedtime and she curled back up in her bed. She made a soft resigned growl with each breath while he cried. I think she is a little bit stressed by it, as anyone would be, but is assured as long as someone is handling it.

That someone is Kelly, and all this crying baby sound reminds me how happy I am where I am: with my one six year old girl and my dog, and don't want to go back to diapers, midnight feedings and no communication. Checked off already. thank you!

I adore Kelly's son Aidan though- he is two and speaks and plays and is a lot of fun. It is kindof true that other people's kids are particularly enjoyable because you can have fun with them while the sun shines and their parents take over when they get cranky. It is not a terrible thing to prefer tots to infants, either. I met a man yesterday who petted Reilly, and said he loves dogs, but has none of his own. He says he is happy to just enjoy petting the dogs he meets out in the world.

It is 19¿ this morning, and I havent been out for a walk yet with Rei. I was visiting my guests before they left for Kelly's sisters for a few hours. Now its all me again...me and Rei, and we are going to be doing some printmaking this morning...maybe go out when it warms up a bit more. Yesterday we walked locally around 3pm, until 4 when Raye gets off the bus. Rei began to feel cold to the touch, but was not shivering. She did prefer to keep moving though, except for important Dog News which she read at great length. I was patient and let sniff, I mean- it was her walk, after all.

Notes on output: Rei prefers some privacy. When C+C were here she sometimes would not poop until I walked her alone without them. She prefers to go on the side of the path, not in our yard, next to the woods or a stone wall. She engages in some marking behavior in response to other marks or at particular NewsStands. Usually just a small pee, sometimes with her right leg lifted off the ground a few inches. Sometimes she steps forward and scores the ground with her claws in long powerful scratches. She didn't score the earth when C+ C were here but I noticed it on our walk yesterday- she did it a few times. I suppose if I want to understnad the scoring marks, I need to make a note if she does it in the neighborhood, outside the neighborhood, when we are in a group or alone. I know she leaves marks at the field, scores and stains. I dont yet notice if she does this regardless of the company or not. I don't notice this with documentary precision, I guess...I wonder if I feel like taking the time to pay attention hard enough?

I wonder why a spayed female would leave announcements? I don't think any of my books have said...because its just what you do? because she is restating her area after a change in the group? B/c she wants dogs who read them to stay away, or to join her? when I have more attention to pay to this, maybe I will.

A Canine Good Citizen?
Mood:  cheeky
Topic: behave!
Again at the field during odd hours, we met Delphy, "Le chien dominant." It was outside the Delphy Zone, but close to it. Rei preceded me out of the Nutty Forest and stood looking out, I could see a woman rush to her dog and wrap a scarf through its collar. Closer, I recognized Delphy and her owner recognized me and let Delphy go, since Delphy and Rei do not fight.

Rei was by me at the edge of the field, Delphy ran up directly to Rei with a snarl and bossy posture. Rei turned her face aside and tucked her tail, but also showed her teeth. Delphy seemed satisfied and went off to explore the woods, with Delphy otherwise engaged, Rei scooted out into the field and stood tall in the open on the other side of me. I petted Delphy, not because she is friendly and cuddly- which she isn't- but because I wanted to increase familiarity. I spoke to her and petted her and saw she was wearing some tags, "Therapy dog" and "Canine Good Citizen."

I can believe that Delphy is a therapy dog because she has always been perfectly fine with people as far as I have ever heard or witnessed. I even gave her a kiss on the head today. She is not warm and joyful, but tolerant and calm. But having gone through Canine Good Citizen testing with Reilly, I am very surprised she passed since one of the tests involves greeting a friendly dog, which Delphy does not do well. On our test day, young Reilly served as the Friendly Dog for a large mastiff - tan and with a black mask like a kind of PugZilla- that was being evaluated. He made no move, but growled at her which the evaluators told his owner meant that his dog needed more training- he did not recieve his Good Citizen designation that day. I suppose that under strict control, sitting and with full attention on her owner, Delphy may have been able to pass this piece, but that is not real world typical, nor is it "greeting a friendly dog"- more like "ignoring a friendly dog."

Yet another "achievement" proves to be worth less than we thought. I am sometimes accused of being cynical, but I suppose the choice is to choose to believe in the worth of things and value and enjoy them, or to put less stock in things and adjust ones expectations, which sets you up for fewer disappointments but is less fun day-to-day.

I felt a twinge of concern when Rei lifted her lip at Delphy, who might have decided she would not endure such cheek and fight Reilly. But she did not, and I thought about this as I finished my hike around. Reilly was clearly submitting by her bent posture and looking-away face, but this was the first I saw of bared teeth against Delphy. She always rushes up to Rei in a dominant display, and Rei always tucks and acknowledges her dominance. But teeth? It was a more tepid show of fangs than she showed Marco yesterday, which by comparison looks quite confident because she did not turn her head from him, just bristled at his advance.

I wonder if this is different because males and females rank in separate columns, and this more submissive action to Delphy (who is THE top female we have ever encountered) is necessary because they are both stacking up in the females column, whereas Rei doesn't stack with Marco, she can refuse to submit to him. I think also that Marco is also not actually a high-ranking dog, he's just a pushy personality. Someone like Cooper- who is a high ranking dog, but is calm and confident, not pushy- would not tolerate Marco's act, and also does not get along with Delphy. Both C+D are high-ranking confident dogs.

It is very much like people. You can tell leaders from jerks- its not the same display of power.

You've Got Dragons
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: behave!
Raye has a book called "You've Got Dragons" which is a metaphor for being down, having bad luck, etc. and if this or that thing is happening, then You've Got Dragons. I have Dragons today. I was cranky with the dogs, who kept clotheslining me with the double dogger, I accidentally stepped on Cody's foot when he was - well, underfoot again. Cody did not come when called yesterday and instead ran down to the Xindi house to root around in the compost heap for burritos, so I can't trust him and I leash him when we are outside now. I am not going to lose Laura's dog. I forgot to send Raye to school with a snack. It is still raining. I am alone tonight, which can be seen on either side of the coin- "I am all alone" or "yay! I have time to myself!" Of course, when you've got dragons, it's "I'm all alone again."

I dropped the surviving brownies off at Raye's school- we baked two batches for Octoberfest, but they didn't cut so well off the baking dish- and took the dogs to the field. I could feel that the dogs were not well connected to me today, probably because I've got dragons. I worried that this meant that they would not listen to me or come when I called, but I also noticed that there wasn't anybody else there, so it was of little consequence maybe. The dogs have to run, or we'll all go crazy, so I said what the hell, we gotta walk, I'll just have to deal with it if they don't come. I noticed that Cleo will come when I call her until she notices that Cody is ignoring me, then she follows him. Kathy said her dogs do that too.

We walked around alone once but met Kathy on the way back, so I went around again so the pups could play with Madison. My Reilly ran with them a little bit, but kept in heel behind me mostly. I didn't ask her to do this. As I walked I thought about my lack of connection to the dogs overall today, and the general distance with Reilly all the time. The delight of C+C to enjoy people is a big difference from Reilly, and I thought how anybody would so easily love and want these dogs, but Reilly would be a tough sell in an animal shelter- she is incontinent first of all and doesn't 'show' well because she is not affectionate like most dogs. 'Aloof' seems to be the word dog people use. Are the dogs detached because I've got dragons today? Or has Cody finally decided that I am not even Almost-Laura?

I have visited the greyhound websites and seen how this or that dog is not showing well and is fearful in the shelter, but they expect that once home and comfy these dogs would warm up. I imagine my own Reilly in a shelter and not getting adopted, and I know she must ALWAYS be my dog because noone else would understand her- not that I do, either, but at least I love her already. I wonder what she thinks about as the mere action of me sitting on the floor brings C+C over for hugs and pats and warm puppy kisses, one dog shoving the other out of the way to see me first. Rei stands behind the hubbub with a fleecey ball in her mouth and wags her tail in greeting. I try to reach her but she ducks away. She doesnt want me to pat her, she wants me to play tug with her and the ball. When I tug my part of the ball, Cody says HE'll play tug with Reilly instead and I must let him; I tug with hands, he tugs with teeth.

I wonder what this means for a multi-dog house? Does it diminish the relationship I have with Rei because a dog she likes (Cody being our benchmark for that job description.) will play with her instead? Since Rei doesn't cuddle up next to you and put her head on your lap to stroke (unless you are eating something), play time is what we have to relate with. Without that, then what?

An article on the web called "How to warm up an Aloof Cat" suggests scooping the cat up and snuzzling it whether it likes it or not until it DOES like it. I don't think this works with 65 lb canines. Tackling dogs is a bad idea since covering them is aggressive, dominant posture. Although maybe hugging is too. There are no articles about warming up aloof dogs, just breed descriptions that say this or that breed has an aloof personality. I guess you just deal with it. It says, some dogs are not good for therapy dogs since their aloofness causes the people they are supposed to be cheering up to feel rejected.

On the plus side, Rei does't jump up on people and slobber on them. She sometimes jumps up at me when she wants me to play with her. Maybe discouraging some things too strongly (?) has discouraged her from affection. I can't even remember her puppy days very well. I know in the first little while, she slept on my legs a couple times, but she'd never do that now.

If I had a second dog that WAS more affectionate, would I feel guilty? Would Reilly feel jealous? Would her jealousy make her push in for some pats, or sulk? She is completely indifferent when I rub Hobey or give attention to other dogs at the field, so I guess she'd stay indifferent. The owner of a rat terrier- a nasty name for a perky, happy, larger jack-russell like dog- I was petting and talking to remarked that Reilly was "not even jealous!" I told her Reilly doesn't like pats, and therefore doesn't care. I must remind myself that I ALSO told her that Reilly likes to run around together and play together and be nearby together instead of pats, and that I am okay with that. When I've got dragons I am not okay with that, I guess.

So we left the field on this dreary, muddy day, and I put all dogs in the wagon as usual, and I said hi to Karen arriving quickly so I could get in the front seat before Cleo the lab puppy did. She had her front feet on the parking brake. I told her to move it- ep! Ep! ep! Ep! and get in back, she didn't. I thought, the hell with it, do whatever! She squeezed between the bucket seats and sat next to me in the passenger seat. I thought Oh, I cant bring myself to have the energy to care, you just go ahead and DO that, and I started the car. She got comfortable and curled up. I turned on the radio, where Tom Ashbrook was discussing whether recent world disasters might constitute an apocalypse and what attitude we might take about it on "On Point" and put the parking brake down. Cleo snuggled her head between the shifter and the coin box, I nudged her out so I could put it in first gear. She put her head on the lowered brake handle. I drove onto rte30 and she moved her head and cuddled into the bucket seat some more. She put her nose on my leg. I patted her and resigned myself to ignore the muddy upholstery. She rested her head on my lap and closed her eyes. I moved to third gear and just stroked her thick soft ears, and her damp, but warm scruff.

I think the sunny opposite of getting 'dragons' must be getting 'puppies,' (we all know that to 'have kittens' is something else entirely) but I don't know if the joy of Having Puppies makes me smile or cry if they are Laura's Puppies. Oh, come HERE you old Reillydog...!

a casualty- Mrs. Cow
Mood:  hug me
Now Playing: unpaid bills, Afghanistan hills
Topic: behave!
Dog play has claimed a casualty- Reilly and Cody were tugging on Mrs.Cow and tore her leg off. I repaired her, because I think Laura told me that Mrs. Cow was Cleo's special toy, though I could be wrong because Cleo doesnt seem very interested. My repairs were not long lasting though as before long Cody and Reilly each had half and were unstuffing her with great delight and fluff everywhere, which Cleo liked to munch as well. So, Mrs Cow is on the DL now.

At the field today we met an Australian Shepherd I didn't know. Cleo was afraid and had a little submissive urination, but everyone got along fine. Cody wanted to try some sticks that Hobey and Riley Springer were enjoying privately, but they both told him in no uncertain terms to buzz off. I kept him walking to take his mind off things. I find that when walking, conflicts are set aside.

Cody and Cleo chased Madison some more. Reilly seems to have perked up again, and is not so overwhelmed and exhausted. She has a scab on her knee (dogs have narrow knees) that I think she got from climbing the boulder in the field the last time. She leaped up and scrabbled but fell off the rock, so I think that's where it happened. She's okay though.

In other news, I've agreed to welcome Scout the Catahoula leopard dog to Reilly's B&B; for a few days while his humans go to California. I am looking forward to seeing him again- he's a neat looking dog and a good dog. I have been thinking about all the dogs that have slept over at our house:

Sophie- an adult female golden retriever, several years older. Reilly tolerates her, but is not happy to see her. They don't play, but neither are they aggressive. Reilly doesnt like her to come in, and she doesn't like to Sophie to get the fetch balls. Sophie is more people oriented and is not interested in Reilly anyway.

Tessa- a small adult female beagle mix, a year older than Rei. Reilly's friend from the field. They did not play, but Reilly is deferential to Tessa and doesn't mind her at all. They are very happy to see each other at the field and bow and frisk, but dont wrestle. They are hunting buddies.

Cody-small, younger male- he came to our house as a puppy and instantly they made great pals, playing and wrestling just like they do now. A++

Cleo- female puppy, still slightly smaller than Reilly. Reilly avoids interacting with Cleo. She is not an obnoxious puppy, but I think Reilly just wants to be with Cody.

Kaylee- smaller than Reilly, young female corgi mix. We've been over how that went.

The golden that came to interview- he was a large-size adult, and like all goldens, very people-centric, did not interact with Reilly directly. Rei did not let him into our house.

Cooper- geriatric male golden. She growls if you even mention his name. He ignores her and craps in our yard. I will have to post my Cooper-Reilly story from last summer to illustrate. She tolerates him peacefully off-site, but thy are not friends.

Other neighborhood dogs that don't come in our yard are Izzy (adult female Yorky- Reilly likes her, they play), Jessie (Reilly tolerates her but finds her too spazzy), Buster (confident male Jack russell- Reilly loves him) and the Pouff's old pug

Scout is a smaller than Reilly, several month old male. He is not dominant, nor is he big, so I think since he falls into the Cody category they will get along swimmingly, I'll have a good idea of what kind of roommate Reilly would like best.

someday.

Misty Morning, not exactly Albert Bridge
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: someday I suppose
Topic: behave!
We are socked in with fog today- the kind you read about in books. The kind that makes your bangs drip in your eyes and your arms feel cold. Mystery novel fog. At the dog field, it means all the grass is soaked, the dogs are soaked and muddy, and most significantly, that you can't see very far. K2 calls the corner where the corn and the forest get close together with a narrow path between the "Delphy Zone"- it turns corners and you cant see Delphy coming in time to leash up. With the fog today the whole field was a Delphy Zone. Fortunately we did not meet her.

We walked with Tessa and Chris, and gave a polite hello to Dan, Dan, Harmonica Man going the other way. We did not meet any other dogs till we got almost all the way back -to the alfalfa section- where we met Hunter and Dukey who are very heavy labs, black and yellow. Dukey was the guy who scrapped with Cooper a few posts ago, very loudly but leaving no marks. Reilly is afraid of them, and scooted around to keep her face at Duke and gave him a snarl before marching on. He lumbered after her, but as she passed his owner there was a bit of a canine logjam ( a dogjam?).

The owner of these big guys was a small woman, who was attending to her child, a tiny girl about 2 years old. I can appreciate that it must be difficult to have two huge dogs that need to go out and get their ya-ya's out while being mom to a small child. I can appreciate encouraging the child to walk so you dont have to carry her and to develop her independence- I made Raye walk at the field, too. But two large dogs, one very dominant, require your attention and control in public among other dogs. She let them drag their leashes and wander- which was why we met Hunter unattended the other day- while she took care of her girl. I fear that "Dukey" is going to get in trouble and mom will be ill positioned to take control.

Tessa went past the big dogs and visited the little girl, but Duke was right behind her. Chris became nervous because Tessa will bark and snap her teeth when she is scared and she did not want any dog action next to the girl. We managed to move through Duke and Hunter and kept walking by. When we looked back, Duke was humping Hunter and mom was still bent over, cajoling her daughter.

I guess the lesson of the field is that lots of people keep all kinds of dogs, but vary hugely in their level of awareness and responsibility. Why does the woman on Keithill Rd. historically keep guarding- breed dogs? (Rotties previously and now a boxer and a pitb..I mean, American Staffordshire Terrier) Why does she let them out to roam the neighborhood without collars? We met them in the field when the Staffy was a tiny pup and they were fine, but even mild mannered Reilly is a deep-barking, hackle-raising, big, brindle defense machine when it comes to our home. She is under my management, and is not allowed to run loose outside her yard.

The fenced field may become a less desirable place to go if greater numbers of poorly controlled dogs begin arriving. I think winter will be fine as there is a seasonal flux of dogs (lots on sunny autumn sundays, only the diehards once it gets cold and into the muddy spring), but next summer I may need to find alternatives. Maybe we revisit the 2 dog thing then. Ceej and I are going to a dog show in December and I hope to learn more about who that second dog might maybe be.