Tired Dogs
Topic: kinds of dogues
I am home after voting in our little town's election, chatting with the Sewer commish (who is the dad of one of my daughter's classmates, too) and running the dogs. They are both snoozing on the floor in the studio. Reilly is stretched on the floor, the fur in her mane is prickly from wrestling with slobbery dogs. Cleo is curled in Reilly's bed, her yellow coat is grass-stained on the shoulders and back and mud stained on the belly and legs. She had a great morning.

Cleo has had a good vacation with us- Laura and Cody are coming to get her tonight. I think if Cleo has any requests it would have been to be able to sleep in our room with Jeff reilly and I, but she is a very dutiful dog, and takes whatever place you want her to have. She had a great time at Raye's birthday party- she did not bark at strangers or knock over children, but she did bring them tennis balls to throw for her, and they did throw them.

We had Reilly outside with us when the kids arrived and she did bark at the cars, but when they stopped in the driveway she greeted the parents and kids, and I explained to the kids that Reilly was like Mudge, a very big but utterly harmless dog in a series of books popular with first graders. I was proud of both dogs for not raising a ruckus. They were great.

Rei has not had any ear trouble since starting her fish and potato diet, now about a month old I think. Her ears have not been itchy or red at all. I am down to cleaning them 2x a week and they are not even very dirty. I have allowed her to have the odd rawhide, and some high-quality biscuits, and no reaction. She eats liver bits, and cooked chicken- no reaction. She has had some milkbones from the Cookie Man at the field- who carries treats I would probably not buy that look like bacon strips. no reaction. She is doing well!

April Catch Up
Mood:  cool
Topic: kinds of dogues
Its cool and damp today, but the dogues must go out, so out we go. The grass is green now and getting taller. We have had no rain at all in March, and very little in April, depsite all the umbrellas on the Hello Kitty Calendar. I can't complain about the rain.

REI v. BLACKJACK
---------------
We travelled to Pretzelvania for easter and visited Cody and Cleo on their turf. Rei is quite happy there. The last time she was there, I left her with Laura so Jeff and I could go to a wedding. Laura reported that Rei was sad and cranky without me. But I was there this time and Rei was very happy with her cousins. In the next yard lived an old rottie, BlackJack, who came out side a few times and all the dogs ran the fences and got excited. Reilly was not happy to see him, though he was not aggressive. She seemed to think he was in 'her' yard. She also is not a huge fan of large confident males in the first place, and to my surprise she ran to him and barked really fiercely at him. I took her collar and removed her from the fence side. We practiced ignoring BlackJack and focusing on me instead. It seems not worth the investment, since we dont live there, but I am interested in her repsonse - that she felt intruded upon by his presence- and I want her to be a trusty dog as much as possible. If she met BlackJack in the field off leash, she'd probably avoid him, or visit and sniff and tuck her tail. She might tell him to keep back. But she certainly would not run up and cuss him out like that. Does she feel some ownership to Cody's yard? Did she not understand that Cody and Cleo like BlackJack? Did she feel that as the top dog over Cody and Cleo- even in their yard- that she needed to protect status, or the group?


REI and CLEO
-----------
We left Laura's house and took a nice (on leash) hike at Rickett's Glen State Park- waterfalls and layered rock slabs- very nice! We picnicked and then bid Laura and Cody goodbye, while we took Cleo home with us for two weeks. Rei was in the wagon, and stood over Cleo and showed her teeth. Cleo seemed to acknowledge this, but hopped in anyway. At the time I wondered if Cleo was dismissive of Reilly's tough act, but now I think she is just THAT obedient. Cleo seemed a bit uncomfortable, but brave and noble about it. The big dogs were in the back of the wagon, which is close quarters, and Rei gave a bark at her once. Cleo lay there riding with her head up over the back of the back seat for a while. She would much rather have ridden with Raye than with Reilly, I think.

Sometime in NY, she climbed onto the pile of luggage in the back seat next to Raye. I felt bad becasue I thought Rei was making her uncomfortable. We stopped and took Cleo for a walk, she peed and we continued on our way. She stayed in the back with Rei the rest of the way. Laura is in Florida till May 1. Cleo is staying here and the subplot is to see if Rei and Cleo will play, or if it really IS all about Cody. (It is) Cody spent one week as the Only Dog, and when Laura and Scott actually left for Florida yesterday they left him with her friend, Philly Sue. At Philly Sue's house, Cody is the BIG dog. The other dogs are a new labrador puppy, named Piper, and Mr. Pids, a Westie. Laura said that Cody seemed to enjoy being THE Dog again, but of course she DOES want her Big Yellow Dog back. :)

Reilly also enjoys being The Dog better than having other dogs here. There's lots of talk about dogs being pack animals, and they are, but Reilly's pack is Me, Jeff and Raye and the cats. She likes the dog pack at the field, but she does not seem to desire a constant dog-pack. In fact she seems exhausted and somewhat put out with dogs in her house.


REI at BEDTIME
-------------
At night, we put Cleo and Raye to bed at 8pm. Reilly comes to life with them out of the picture. Cleo adapts very well to this schedule, she is in general very accomodating. "What can I do for you? OK, consider it done!" Reilly continues to sleep at the foot of our bed as usual. Last night, Jeff made some comment that Reilly was "smelly" and might not be welcome upstairs. To avoid confrontation I said nothing and decided that if Reilly followe dme up to bed, I would proceed as normal, and if she did not follow me up, then I'd let her remain downstairs. Say no more. She did not follow us up, so we went to bed without her.

I expected her to come up and bark to be let in, or to quietly stay outside the door, or maybe just sleep in her bed downstairs. What she did though was come upstairs and drop her ball at the door, then went back downstairs and periodically growled and grumbled and barked out briefly every so often. I did nothing about this because it was not what I expected, she was obviously downstairs, not at the door, so I figured she was hearing something outside (sometimes our neighbor gets up and does yardwork in the dark- Reilly and I both find this very weird, but she barks and I don't.) At 2am, though, I got up for a drink and found only her ball in the hallway. I went downstairs to look for her and she was in the living room, wagging. I put on my shoes and walked to the door- maybe she wants to go out? She did not follow, she just stood there and wagged with a toy in her mouth. I walked back and took off my slides and gave her a pat. She followed me upstairs and curled up in her bed and after a heavy sigh was silent the rest of the night.

So it does matter to her to be with us at night. I will just have to make sure she is well-walked and not particularly smelly from rolling in anything.

CLEO=PERFECT
-------------
Cleo is a pretty perfect dog. One of our dog friends said yesterday that she was gorgeous, and calm and focused and "what a lab should be". she said that Cleo embodies 'all the reasons people fell in love with labs to begin with.' It is true. I'm not even Laura, but she sticks by me, she looks to me, she has no mischief about her, loves tennis balls, loves to cuddle up, doesn't beg, doesn't jump. She does not run down to the neighbors' compost heap to see if they have tossed out any tortillas lately, as Reilly and Cody have. She fetches the ball and returns it to you wherever you are, and if you don't pick it up right away, she'll toss it closer to you. If you throw the ball and she misses where it went, you can just wave vaguely in the direction it went and she will go find it. She does get wet, but she is pretty waterproof and doesn't stay dirty. She does throw up, but I keep food time calm and the water dish only half-full. I noticed that she will eat and then drink a ton of water, so I try to slow her down on both. She is pretty lovey, but she doesn't act all rejected if you ask her to lay down and settle. She is confident and calm and dutiful. No offense taken, boss, it's whatever you want, and if you are happy, I am happy.

Reilly is not like this at all. She is sensitive and complex. She is independent and doesn't really see why she should do anything FOR me. Well, for a cookie, sure. She likes to do things WITH me. She is like a perfectly matched college roommate who happens to like the same things you like, "Wanna go down to the park and chase squirrells? Sounds great!" Cleo is like your best hockey linemate "We have to find all seven tennis balls by 4 o clock and get them in the box, you find the balls, and I'll put them in the box- 3,2,1 BREAK!"

TWO FOR ROUGHING
------------------
Speaking of hockey, Cleo- whom Laura will tell you is 'a bit klutzy'- was on the receiving end of a huge 'open-ice' body check delivered by a streaking Hobie this morning. Reilly and Hobie were boltng along and hipchecking in a very fast side-by-side race. Cleo was sort of running along alone and didn't see Hobie and Rei in time, I dont think Hobie saw Cleo at all, just blasted her full speed and laid her solid shoulder into poor Cleo, who yelped and fell in the mud and rolled and seemed a bit shaken. Trooper that she is, though, she shook it off and sat out a few plays, then returned to the game.

She did not limp, and in fact as we were pausing to wait for joshua, Cleo began running by herself in large circles in the long grass. She was flying along and stepped in a chuckhole, did a cartwheel, got up and tore around some more. As she ran, Rei noticed her and hunkered down to ambush. She blasted after Cleo and they bumped and raced side by side. I was glad to see them playing together. Previously Cleo had tried to get Rei to play but Rei told her to buzz off.

GAMES
------
It seems that the dog who gets others to chase it is the leader of the game. That could be Maddy picking up a stick and showing everybody- "none of you can get THIS stick from me!!" or Hobie rolling over and inviting the others to play a kind of King-of-the-Mountain game where everyone tries to 'get' her and she rolls around and fends them all off. No mountain necessary. Rei says no to Cleo's invitations. But when Cleo was tearing around, Rei could not resist the urge to chase- no prize- just the chase. No "Come and GEt me", Rei just watching her go and deciding "i'm going to GET her!!"

Cody can get Rei and Cleo to play, but he is not the top dog. A jester maybe. More Cleo news as it happens. On May 2, she goes home, and Rei will return to being THE Dog.

TRIATHLON
----------
Sonia has encouraged me to train for a short mini-triathlon. I agreed to do it, mostly because Sonia seems absolutely convinced that I can do it, but also because it takes place only two towns over from where I live, and I need a reason to train, and a schedule to train, and someone to guide me as I do it. I have always hated running, but I like having run and the image I create of myself from having run that day- that I might be strong and active and not lazy. I don't like cycling to nowhere- hate the stationary bike! and dont like making mileage or time. I like riding to the library. I also don't like activities that I can't bring Reilly to. I mean if I am outside and energy is being expended, Rei should be with me and expending energy too.

BUT with this training, I alternate cycling with running, and I can run at the dog field, which is actually a cross country course for the University. If I go at a less-social time I can run there with Rei and I dont have to run with her on a leash, I can run on hills, on dirt, and with my sidekick. I only have to train enough to be able to run 2.8 miles, and to cycle 12. 12 miles is only PART of a standard "Pa's Birthday bike ride."

Right, I DID say it was a TRIathlon. I can't train for the swim until it gets warmer, so I am in blissful denial of that portion for now. I will run and get stronger and leaner and I'll figure the swim out when the town lake opens. I wanted to not tell anyone about my training, so noone could say anything to me like "you shouldnt eat that," or "you need to run farther" or any sort of critical crap that will get in the way of me doing this for me. MY thing. Only Sonia can tell me what to do. She knows. I should go run before it rains again.

Potatoes
Mood:  silly
Topic: kinds of dogues
Laura came home from work yesterday to find Cody happily gnawing on a potato. "What the heck are you playing with?" He allowed her to take it from him- after all a potato is not exactly rawhide- and wagged his tail proudly. (She wonders if he is beginning a sympathy potato diet for Reilly?) She feels a little guilty at work imagining Cody sighing and bored and all alone with nothing better to occupy him that this old potato. Like prison. I joked that Cleo the yellow labrador probably bounces her tennis ball against the wall all day, like in the Great Escape. Laura said that she actually can't because she exiled all tennis balls to be Outside Toys. Cleo has become a bit obsessive with them, she said. I remembered that Laura cleaned the house up once to find no fewer than 15 tennis balls lost under couches and other furniture. Laura breaks off a moment "What do you have?!" - Cleo trots by from the kitchen carrying a potato. "Give me THAT! Everybody OUTside...Let's go!" I tell Laura she better have a look under all her furniture and maybe secure the potatoes. She agrees and adds that perhaps some tennis balls can come back inside.

Reilly's Mythbusters- we meet an American Staffordshire Terrier
Mood:  special
Topic: kinds of dogues
Walking up on the golf course, we met Rawsen and his dogs, an elderly male boxer named Balsa and a 1 yo Staffordshire terrier. One of the 3 or so breeds commonly called a 'pit bull'.

I have actually envisioned for a while what might happen if those two came boiling out of their yard after us, for other dog people in the neighborhood have told me they are not well-supervised outdoors and that as a pair they sometimes corner dogs that go by their front yard, and that it is intimidating to meet them. We had met them once before at the field when the Staffie was a new puppy, but these guys do not go to the field as a rule. I sometimes imagine stupid things like dogs fighting and things I could try to stop it if it ever happened, probably all either foolish or impossible. I was even thinking this today on the way across the field. As usual everything was fine.

When we came back to the pond hazard behind Rawsen's yard, which abuts the golf course at the 7th hole, the Staffie was out and barking and ran around the weeds to where it could see Reilly. It was very small. The dogs had a nose-nose faceoff and the staffie wagged and wagged, but approached Rei very directly. It strained to sniff her high face. Rei put her ears back and lowered her rump. The staffie tried to go around and sniff her butt, but Rei twirled her butt away from the dog, and kept her face forward, butt low. Some bluffing went on, and I growled NO!!! and Rawsen arrived on the scene just behind the boxer. Lots of surrounding and sniffing, and Rawsen trying to catch the staffie and her scooting out of reach. Rei was really anxious to be surrounded by strange dogs trying to get behind her. I caught the old boxer, and Rei trotted away, ears back, wary. The staffie went with her, and eventually we caught her as well.

then we got to talk.
Rawsen says that his little brown staffie is a 'type A personality,' that he had to beat her off of a Rottweiler recently in a park. "The owner was pissed" he conceded. He says she is a great people dog, which is consistent with what I hear about the 'pit bull' breeds, but that he just can't predict what she will do around other dogs: sometimes she's great, other times she is aggressive. He held her collar the whole time and did not release her even when Reilly came back and began keening and play-bowing to the dogs. He said he just doesn't know what she will do if he releases her and furthermore that when she gets wild, the boxer joins the fray. The boxer is fine with other dogs on his own. He says she has no fear at all, and based on her small size compared to Reilly - she weighs less than Cody, I estimate about 23 lbs- she certainly was sure Reilly was no danger to her physical self at 72 lbs.

And Rei is obviously a pussycat. Reilly is barely assertive, never mind aggressive, and does not fight. If pit bulls are delightful, affectionate-to-people dogs with a spunky attitude and no fear than Reilly is sort of the opposite. While sometimes adoring and radiant, she is not physically affectionate, she is independent and active with a quiet attitude and much reticence. A cautious dog. I think what Reilly really wants most is to hike with me and explore and hunt.

(sidebar- Katz on Dogs says adult dogs do not need play groups with other dogs. Reilly enjoys the field and I enjoy that she gets along with other dogs and develops and practices her dog manners there, but I wonder what- if anything- would be different if we did not go to such social things as frequently. Would she be lonely for dog play? Would she be different with me? since her social physical outlets - bumping and wrestling other dogs- would not be as exhausted?)

This little staffie was the runt, said Rawsen. She is not stocky and broad but lean and very much of a puppy-build. She has small eyes and her ears are small, but her snout is very short and her whole head is blocky. Her coat is very short. Reilly has small ears but Laura insists, she does not look like a pitbull. Her coat was very close, much shorter than Reilly's, short like velvet. Reilly has much longer hairs. I petted the staffie, and she was very soft and firm and wriggly. She was friendly to me and cute. Not a care in the world, a very confident dog.

Rawsen, who has owned a pair of Rottweilers, the boxer, the staffie and a male Chesapeake Bay Retriever said the Chessie was the meanest dog he ever owned, and had to be put down.

No Puppy Left Behind
Mood:  bright
Topic: kinds of dogues
Raye's teacher, coincidentally named Mrs. RILEY, has assigned this worksheet to her class. *grin*

The Dog Who Ruins Everything
Mood:  quizzical
Topic: kinds of dogues
My sister may have found a good candidate for Second Dog.
Oh? I thought you tried that.
Well, I did, and I sortof scratched that off my list. But she feels this dog has promise- he's still friendly and reasonable and hasn't been in the shelter too long -Reilly sized, less than a year old, and... he's mostly brindle.
Some days I think its too much. I spend HOW much time every day on these dogs?
Mmm.
I say to myself, WHY did i get a second dog? But its only some days.
Ah.
But YOU, YOU are getting your life back now that your daughter is growing up, going to school, you are working on your business. I'd think twice if i were you.
Yeah, and Rei is so good and trusty, and she gets along with all these dogs here.
He could turn out to be The Dog Who Ruins Everything.
I guess...

He's an english Springer spaniel.
Ive never seen one so speckley.
He's the field kind.
How old?
8. He's a senior. We got him a year ago.
Good for you for adopting an older dog. The puppies just FLY off the shelves, as they say...
Nooo...I don't have TIME for That Puppy Thing- no thank you!

Scott put the kibosh on fostering.
Did he?
He says it wouldn't be fair to Cody to bring another male into the house.
Since when does he care about what Cody thinks?
He says it wouldn't be fair to Cody to bring another male into the house, even temporarily.
Oh well, perhaps it is not meant to be- you know how sometimes you make up overly elaborate schemes to get something done and you are just trying too hard against fate?
Yeah...
maybe we're trying too hard.
I just feel there's something about him, that he'll be such a great dog if I can just get him out of the shelter. It's going to take the right owner though.
I hear you. he's already too big for the puppy factor to help out.
Yeah it has to be someone who likes big dogs, who is already used to big dogs.
Big Brindle Dogs.
Yes! Like you!
I know it. Well, go back to volunteer on Saturday and see what more you can ascertain about his personality, see if he can be calm and sit for a cookie, walk nicely, pay attention. notice if he bolts after squirrells, prey drive kindof thing.
If it's meant to be it will work out.
See how it goes.
When you come down for Easter you need to come see him. Although that's two months away.
Raye has all next week off of school, but it'd take an awful lot of convincing to get Jeff to go along with Raye, Rei and I driving to Pennsylvania to look at a DOG. I mean, he'd have to shake gold coins out of his left ear to get Jeff aboard.

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...

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."

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.

Lucy
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: kinds of dogues
Meet Lucy, a 17 year old grey miniature poodle (not toy- and remember "standard" poodles are the big ones!) that is staying with our next door neighbors for the christmas/new year holidays. I have known Lucy since I was in high school and she was a young girl and extremely fast tearing around the yard in great arcs. Lucy is the reason that I stopped automatically writing off all poodles as prissy, obnoxious, spoiled dogs with stupid haircuts. She has a natural long tail, and always has had what is called a 'puppy cut', which is an even, natural trim all around her body. She is joyful and respectful, and fun to play with.

My neighbors are not her owners, but friends who love Lucy and take her into their home when her owners are away or just for a visit sometimes. Lucy is now very old, and deaf. She is blind and her eyes are white. She can smell well, and is spunky enough to react with great displeasure to sensing other dogs near her. Sortof parallel to my great grandmother who, except for her final few months, lived to 100 in great health. As long as she reacted with outrage when you mentioned something related to her car you knew she was all right. She drove her elderly friends around town to the store, or the post office in her large white 1980's model sedan. She used the 'creep' method to test the safety of crossing intersections- if nothing hit the nose of the car as it crept forward, well, it was safe to proceed. Gram harbored deep resentment that when at age 95 her daughter suggested she have her doctor authorize her for a handicapped plate, he instead recommended her license be taken away, and it was. She felt bamboozled to say the least of it.

Lucy is an elderly dog, she is thin and hunched and blind but she is still Lucy inside there and Rei and I respect her as she walks along on her leash, tiptoeing among ice and snow and mud for her constitutional. We give her space. I remember her as the young pup flying around my yard. "The Fastest Dog in ALL of MEXICO!!!" we'd yell and laugh as kids, modifying the Speedy Gonzales refrain. Happy New Year, Lucy!