Sunday 30 November 2008

give the dog a bone!

i have to confess that, until i got my dog, i had no idea what "paddywhack" meant. i never even thought it existed as an object, only as a funny word in the old song. but i saw it in the pet shop, was amazed and puzzled, and took it home just for the heck of it. now i know that it's a piece of neck and that the dog likes it.

"liking" is too weak a term when it comes to describing his relation to a real bone, however. "going crazy about" would be closer, but sam goes crazy a lot, like when anyone in the household re-enters the house, or when his lord and master calls him a good dog. "deeply devoted to" might be better, as the bone remained glued to his mouth for several hours after we gave the dog his bone.

now, all that remains to be seen is if the old man will be rolling home. he went out to taste some whisky with a scotsman, so i wouldn't consider it entirely out of the question...

Saturday 29 November 2008

long walk, short steps

we worked on sam's recall today -- the hubby and i took turns calling him from upstairs and downstairs, giving treats as rewards. sam got it quickly, and scampered up and down the stairs between us. he got it a little too quickly, perhaps, because after a while, when one of us said "done" so that the other could call him, he would run to the other for his next treat without even being called...

the whole pack of us walked into the city centre, which was also packed. this became rather tricky, as sam was alternately scared and curious and wanted to go any odd where. so we're keeping him away from the city, at least until the christmas rush is over. still, we managed without incident, except for all the people who wanted to know What He Was. oh, and some poo. luckily, we had 3x3 bags with us.

Thursday 27 November 2008

shit happens

(don't read if eating.

please.)


"big chief, no shit" used to be the hubby's refrain when he walked the dog. this he sings no more, instead having to use three plastic bags to pick up piles of wet poo. as responsible for the evening walk, i, for my part, can only add "big chief, much shit". we're wondering a bit about the dog, but he seems otherwise healthy, so we're not worrying yet.

shit happened, too, when sam was left alone at home for three hours the other day. apart from that, he hadn't destroyed anything, so i considered myself lucky with just a neat pile to wipe off the floor. then my daughter stepped in it on her way to the bathroom. sheeeet...

Monday 24 November 2008

dogs might fly...

...if they have the right equipment.

original pic
ture from upsidedowndogs
capshunned with icanhascheezburger

barking mad

sam has a little problem. he has a big problem about being left alone, and will whimper, howl and bark until he's panting. occasionally, he'll make a mess on the floor. if not securely tied up, which is somewhat difficult to do in a small english house, he'll grab clothes, gnaw on shoes or jump into the window sill in his anxiety. when tied up outside shops, he'll raise fear and pity in passers-by, sometimes attracting kind strangers who wonder if he's been abandoned. well, he has, but only for a short shopping trip.

we tried following the dog book's tip of leaving him alone for progressively longer periods. unfortunately, i misread "20 1-minute sessions" as 20 minute sessions to begin with, which means our training has only served to make him more anxious. we are now back to basics, with me leaving the house or hiding behind a car, only to reappear as soon as he stops yammering. i don't know if this will work yet, and we don't have time to progress slowly. today i have to leave him behind for over two hours, taking my daughter to playgroup. someone's going to be trasked...

Saturday 22 November 2008

we have takeoff

i let sam off the lead today. it was a risk, because i'm not 100% sure he'll come back to me when called, but i felt i could trust him enough to take that chance. he zoomed off like a grey bullet, frisking and jumping like a calf after christmas. then i called him, and he turned, zoomed right back to me, and beyond, for another wild chase.

i let him run in huge circles around me as i slowly walked across the stray (yorkshire for "big green field"), then calmly put his lead on as he was lying down to chew on a bit of wood. we walked a bit more, but then i thought, he enjoyed it so much, i'm sure there's a lot of bounce left in him. so i let him off again. this time he went for the hedge at the edge of the stray, which borders on a row of houses. the hedge apparently has lots of interesting smells and such. this time, he did not immediately come back when i called. i turned and walked away, and luckily, he did come then. another lie-down, and the lead was on. perhaps it was too big a risk to take...

Friday 21 November 2008

poo sticks

as sam was starting to smell a bit too much like a cowshed, i decided to face my dogmons and hose him down a little. it was easier than i thought to get him into the tub, although i did have to give the great lummox a little help. he was okay in the tub, but initially, not with the shower. you haven't lived if you haven't seen a big dog perched uneasily on the edge of a tub. fortunately, sam is a good_dog(tm), calmed down and came back down again. i got him very nice and clean with no more fuss.

the next day, we went for a walk along the river side, and he found a pile of poo to coat his neck, head and ear. time for another bath, sammy-boy...

Thursday 20 November 2008

amazing dogitude

i just caught our dog in the act of nimbly picking a spoon from an empty bowl left on the table. it's too bad he's not allowed to take anything from it -- i was mightily tempted to call him a "clever dog" nevertheless. but i guess in his own mind he is one, anyway.

what did earn him a lot of praise, however, was his being able to open the door to the garden. he's been jumping onto the door handle a couple of times lately, but today he actually managed to twist it, get the door out slightly, and then nudging it open with his snout.

Wednesday 12 November 2008

much can take place in a week

there's a full moon tonight. i'm getting more attuned to the night sky as i spend time out with a doggie that needs to relieve himself, bounce and play, or be prevented from eating all the lobelia.

sam is everything i expected him to be. an all-round good boy who sniffs, wags, licks hands (and occasionally ears) and kills "prey".

he also steals and chews clothing, toys, and any food he fancies and can get hold of, has bad habits such as jumping up or nipping people, and has been used to relieving himself on hard floors for too long. his hat of being separated from his pack knows no bounds, and he's got a good howl in him. the need for constant vigilance during the day, in addition to disturbed sleep at night, has made the last week, and sam, a real handful.

it was the worst of times, and the best of times, to get a dog. november is, actually, the cruellest month, with its rains and winds, not to mention firweorks around bonfire night, which happened to be the night after we picked up sammy-boy. luckily, he's not afraid of firweorks at all, just traffic and other loud engine noises. although i'm on studying vacation, my husband has a lot of work to do, having recently received his school's first batch of students, while at the same time having to prepare a new curriculum (and other stuff) for next year. and daughter dear has a runny nose. all this means that, all things considered, it's the best time to introduce a canine, because if we can get through this, we can get through anything.

we alreayd knew from the rescue centre that there was a lot of bounce in sam -- the kennel workers tended to have difficulties putting his collar on, taking it off, and entering or leaving the kennel without him getting out -- but we also found out he really liked mouthing things. the first few days were spent teaching him not to jump, and leaving our stuff alone. we can measure how calm he's become with us by seeing how much he still bounces in new and frightening situations. he's learnt the leave, sit, and out commands, although he chooses to pretend he hasn't sometimes. the nipping, which could be painful, has become more of a gentle tickle. he still jumps sometimes (such as right now), but we have found that sending him outside tends to burn off excessive playfulness.

i think we have succeeded in convincing sam that outside is overall the best place to put pee & poo in, although accidents may happen if he's overly stressed. twiggy's yell of "quiet" stops him from barking and howling his way through the night. best of all, he and little boo peep are getting along very well -- she can hang on him, lie down on top of him, and even pull him around by a chain, without either of them causing the other too much trouble.

everyone seems to be getting more trustful. the dog can go out into the garden on his own without worrying that we'll disappear, and we can have the same trust in him. he'll probably still nip at the lobelia, and possibly bounce through the forbidden kitchen garden, but he at least knows he's called sam and that he's our dog.

idyll 3

Monday 3 November 2008

we got it!

we're getting our doggie the day after tomorrow. today he went to have his thingies snipped (eww, that sounds horrid! now i understand the popularity of medical jargon) while i went on a shopping spree to the local pet shop. they had it all, from the super-deluxe hand-brushed leather collar and chain, to icky-tacky multicoloured ones with bells and whistles. after searching hard, i managed to find something a bit between the two extremes. so, sam has suffered, but i suffered, too!

Sunday 2 November 2008

sam in his kennel


my sister took this photo when we all visited the RSPCA to meet and walk sam. as always, he bounced up and down in his kennel when he saw us.