those alsatians...

if they're not barking, they're scarfing!

this time, it was a trainee police dog named gunner who decided to taste duchess camilla's nice plaid scarf. (daily mail has the best pictures)

it must therefore be sam's alsatian genes which prompted him, that day in the busy city centre, to attach himself to a lady's crocheted poncho. okay, he was upset by the crowds as well. and he didn't actually try to eat it, just to catch it. still, the incident kept us away from the city centre for a while.

today, we made a new attempt, and sam was very well behaved. he stayed away from ponchos and scarves. he walked nicely by my side. he did want to take in as many interesting smells as possible, and became somewhat skittish among to many people, bikes and a highly interesting pram, but he conquered his demons and walked to heel.

dogs might fly!

from A Dog Year by Jon Katz. the author has just picked up his new border collie at the airport after chasing him through the crowds there.

I decided to take Devon for a short walk before introducing him to Paula and the house. Partway down the block, he was walking alongside me so easily, his nose to the ground sniffing the pavement, that I relaxed a bit for the first time that night. My tree-lined suburban street seemed serene compared to Newark Airport.

An ill-advised reverie: With a sharp jerk of the leash from my hand, Devon was gone. I spun around in all directions and saw no trace of him--until I happened to glance at a passing minivan and saw him perched on the roof as it drove slowly down the street. I didn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. Dogs don't fly.

Brandishing a pooper-scooper in my right hand, I gave chase, shouting as I went, "Hey! Hey, stop! Stop, there's a dog on the car." My neighbors walking their terrier across the street paused in shock and stared.

the book explains the trials and tribulations of getting an adolescent border collie, which makes sam seem like a dignified king poodle in comparison. perversely, the book made me want a collie even more.

encounters three

once upon a time, there was a dog whose fur was as white as snow, as black as night and as grey and tan as a washed-out alsatian. one day, the dog left his house behind to go on a quest; a quest for Fun, and possibly Food.

he walked far, farther than i can tell, and then by the side of the road he spotted a cat. the cat was big and fluffy and stared at him with big, blue eyes. was this Fun, or Food? the dog wagged his tail, but the cat jumped onto a pedestal and grew big, and the dog was pulled onward by an invisible force

then he met an old crone in a disguise. she had no warts or a lengthy nose; instead she looked like a kindly old woman. "ooh, aren't you a pretty boy," she said to the dog. "i used to have an alsatian, long ago." was this Fun? the dog leapt up excitedly, but the invisible force returned and pulled him away.

now he walked into a field, and what should he see but a hound? the hound had long, floppy ears and red eyes as large as dog treats. it also had an impressive bass bark.



the dog and the hound sniffed each other, and the dog decided this was certainly Fun. he jumped, but the insvisible force pulled him away yet again, while the hound was pulled its way by a human.

the dog walked far, farther than i can tell, and at the end of that, he was back home. and what should he find there but a big bowl, brimful with Food? his quest had been successful. the dog fell asleep, ready for more Fun on his next walk.

cat and dog from flickr. now with scary eyes.

husky voice

i was under the assumption that northern inuit was based on malamute and alsatian, mixed with a liberal dose of the famous breed known as "cross", but upon closer reading found that huskies were also involved. this means when i've been telling people sam is part husky, part alsatian, i haven't been lying after all.

looking at pictures of huskies, i see many similarities. but what does sam most resemble: the alaskan husky on the right, or the siberian below?

"Alaskan Husky" was taken by James (scubadiver67) and shared under a Creative Commons by 2.0 license.

"Husky Relaxing" was taken by Red Wolf (redwolfoz) and shared under a Creative Commons by-nc-sa 2.0 license.

product recall

amazement! in a daring act of recklessness i let sam off the lead after a long break. and yay, all that reading about recall training and the actual training process seems to have worked (knock bones!). or at the very least, sam decided to cooperate last night, and did the right thing when called: turned towards me, looked happy, and bounded up. he even sat and took his treat.

i'm not pushing my luck -- the area was small and fairly secure, and he hadn't had the time to go completely "wild" as he does sometimes. it also remains to be seen if he'll be as good next time. still, i think sam and i have made a good start.

treats!

we all went to the "pet's pantry" today, and returned with a big bag of food, a puzzle toy, and some super fishy treats. the nice lady at the shop oberved that sam would be a spoiled dog in the coming week.

after he'd been very good dog on his walks, hardly pulling at all, accepting his bath with little fuss, and bugging no one except for his Great Leader, who deserves it, i felt quite justified in letting the spoiling commence. first he got his treat ball, with merely normal dog food in it, but a great success nevertheless. then the fish treat was brought out -- and the big dog heaved himself into the air for it. he then bugged the Great Leader a little as a thank you, before settling into a contented sleep.

upset

oh no, not again! i had hoped that sam's upset stomach upon first arriving with us would be the last, but of course not. he is a sensitive dog, if only when it comes to his tummy. we're still debating whether it was the type of dog food, the river water drink or the bit of waffle with jam that did it. the end result is indisputable, however: liquid poo appears on the carpet during the night. i'm so happy it's an old, ugly carpet now.

we had a long, nice walk yesterday, where sam played around on the extendable lead a lot. he was very good -- not running off like a mad dog, just being crazy in a cute and controlled manner. he seemed quite happy on the lead, and i was happy to, being able to push the pram and keep both safely arms in their sockets.