Walking the dog

2010-01-01T20:54:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! And I hope you had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Joyous Kwanzaa. "Happy Holidays" is such a generic greeting, that I prefer to be a bit more specific.

Today, M made swedish pancakes (crepes) at her parents' place for brunch. And there was scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage. Good stuff! Loki and Cassie had some, too. Freya stayed home, since she's a bit (lot) less laid back (read: more energetic) and might have gotten underfoot of the parents.

Times are tough, but that's also when people should support each other most. So I've made small donations to two food pantries and two animal shelters. This way I'm taking care of myself and those close to me (which you have to do, first), as well as doing a little something to help the community.

May you have a safe, happy, and prosperous year!

2008-07-24T23:09:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure if anyone looks (or will look) at this blog anymore, but I' m ready to start posting again. The biggest reason why I stopped is because I've been really busy on two fronts lately: work and school. Both of these have something that requires attention: deadlines. Luckily, school (assignment) deadlines are not an issue anymore, because I'm finally finished (at least for now). I now have a master's degree, which is good for two things. The first is as resume material. And the second is not feeling like I haven't accomplished enough academically. This doesn't mean I can stop studying, because my field is constantly advancing. But it does mean that I can set my own deadlines with regards to study. Yea for me! :)

2007-01-31T11:19:00.000-06:00

It's been too long since I've posted, but in my defense I've been busy .. with work, school (I'm in a Master's program which I will hopefully complete this year), more school (a welding class at the local community college), and yet more "school": I just completed the work-with-a-mentor/externship portion of Animal Behavior College's dog trainer certification program. Now I have to finish the 10 hours of volunteer work training dogs at a local shelter, which is a requirement of this program, and then take the detailed final exam.

I really enjoyed the externship portion of the ABC curriculum, and in fact I am still assisting with my mentor's group dog training classes, even though it's not required anymore. Anyway, she wrote some cool things in the "Additional Comments" section of the evaluation report she had to send in:

---------
‹Her master› has a natural, calm demeanor when it comes to working with dogs and people.

‹Her master› had an extremely good attitude that followed his intense enthusiasm.

‹Her master› is one of the best students I have had the honor of training.

I believe in time, ABC would benefit to hire ‹her master› as a mentor trainer.
---------

I really like that last comment :)

2006-10-23T22:04:00.000-05:00

M and I did the eight mile walk around the woods this past weekend. With the dogs, of course. I had her take the dogs for a minute, so that I could take a picture of her, the pups, and the trees. It was a beautiful day, if a bit cold. The trees, with their leaves changing color, were a sight to see.

2006-10-18T07:22:00.000-05:00

For those who think it's just a "dog eat dog" world:

Dog saves owner, but dies trying to rescue cat

Disabled woman suffers third-degree burns in Wisconsin house blaze

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. - After a disabled woman’s cat started a house fire, her specially trained dog came to the rescue, then died trying unsuccessfully to rescue the cat.

Jamie Hanson said her 13-year-old dog Jesse brought her artificial leg and a phone she used to call 911.

“She got me outside and then she heard the cat upstairs and she went up there to get the cat and she wouldn’t come back to me,” Hanson, 49, said at a news conference Monday at Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center, where she was being treated for her injuries.

She received third-degree arm burns in the fire Sunday night at her home in Rhine, south of Elkhart Lake. Both pets died.

Hanson, who lost a leg in a car accident three years ago, said she was on the couch watching television when the cat ran over the back of the couch.

“And he jumped onto a table that had a candle on it and tipped it over and lighted the artificial plants on fire,” she said.

Hanson said she fell off the couch and was unable to get her artificial leg from the table, “so my dog got my leg for me and went and got the phone and brought the phone to me so I could call 911.”

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Okay, yes, the woman was stupid to have a lit candle in the house when she was disabled. If I ever get another dog, maybe I'll call it Jesse.

2006-10-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

Rolling around is fun! [Loki loves to roll around, too, especially in grass.]

Three doggies, romping in the woods.

A couple of weeks ago, M adopted two-year old Cassie from a shelter. Last weekend we took all three dogs for a walk in the woods. Cassie is a mix, part Jack Russell Terrier, and part Spaniel. She is small, high energy, can jump very high, and loves to roll around, just like a Jack Russell. But she has the soft, wavy fur and colors and markings of a Spaniel. She's very lucky to have M as her mommy.

2006-10-04T18:33:00.000-05:00

This is bandit. He's the neighbors' fourth dog! He's a five-month-old Australian Sheepdog. He's very friendly, and will supposedly spend most of his life on a ranch in Oklahoma. I haven't seen him for a while now, so this is probably true. Freya loves to bark and go fence-running with him. She misses him a bit, and still looks for him every time she goes outside.

I spoke too soon. Bandit is back! Now Freya can run the fence and bark happily. Until I bring her in to quiet her down, that is. And Bandit has a pretty loud bark for his size, too!

2006-07-27T13:01:00.000-05:00

We're waiting for the driver to get back in the car; put the cell phone/camera back in your pocket, get in here, and let's go!
[Click on the photo to see a larger version.]

2006-07-05T13:03:00.000-05:00

M and I were at the Naperville Riverwalk this July 4th holiday. We crossed one of the bridges to the south side of the river, and walked west until we came to the end of the official path. After that we walked the dirt/wood shavings narrow "trail" next to the condos and houses until it dead ended about five minutes later. At that dead end we saw a mother duck and her five ducklings. We stood still and the mother duck walked her ducklings right up to us! :) So then we walked backwards a few steps to give her some room. I took this shot with my cell phone camera, and since I didn't want to spook her, I didn't crouch down to take the picture, so it's not the best shot. But still, it was surprising and cool to meet a mother duck who wasn't afraid of us, even though she was shepherding five ducklings.

2006-06-22T13:10:00.000-05:00

Freya and Loki, chillin' on the deck.

2006-06-22T13:06:00.000-05:00

Freya is now maybe an inch taller than Loki, but Loki is still top dog. That probably won't change anytime soon, if ever, because Loki is very dominant (to most all dogs) and Freya is a bit timid, though she's only five months old.

2006-06-21T12:49:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, M and I took both dogs to the dog beach. It was Freya's first time there. As you can see, she wasn't too averse to getting in the water. I took this with my cell phone's camera. I love this shot.

2006-04-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

What a dirty puppy!

2006-04-11T20:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, since it was a sunny, warm day, during my lunch time I walked the doggies. But first I soaked them with the hose (nicely, of course.)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I took Freya to the vet yesterday for her second round of shots. She now weighs twenty-two pounds. Which means that she's more than doubled her weight in one month.

2006-04-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

Freya is a little German Shedder, as M would say. Loki's shedding too, but not a quarter as much.

2006-04-11T20:20:00.000-05:00

Loki has her eyes closed and is actually half asleep in this picture. How comfortable can she be?

2006-04-09T09:59:00.000-05:00

Yes, I've been climbing on top of this wobbly thing since I was two months old, and I can still do it, see? (The expression on her face is due to the fact that I'd just called her name so I could take the shot.)

2006-04-07T07:41:00.000-05:00

You dirty dog! Freya's growing. I've had to adjust her collar twice in the last couple of weeks. Now I have two sometimes green-eyed monsters.

2006-04-06T14:03:00.000-05:00

I am a sentimental sap. These two cups are ones that M didn't need because she bought new ones (the cup on the right has a chip that's not visible in the picture). I was happy to take them off her hands because they remind me of the good times early in our relationship. They might be worth only a quarter in a second-hand store, but they are priceless to me.

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Last Sunday was the first day of the new season that I went for my usual run. In the past few years I’ve made it a point to run roughly four miles twice a week, normally on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I enjoy running, but I am not fast; I do it for fitness and relaxation. So, Sunday was the first day in a long while that I went for a run, and my body let me know it in no uncertain terms. After the first mile it told me I could stop now, and after the third mile it seemed to be actively battling with my willpower. However, determination won the morning.

Tuesday should have been the next running day, but that didn’t happen. My legs were still a bit sore. Today I did go running again, and while my muscles were tight, it felt very good. After the third mile my body told me that it wouldn't hurt to walk, but it wasn't actively complaining. When I got home I took the dogs for a walk as a cool down. Then I took a shower, ate breakfast, and went to work. It was a good morning.

2006-03-24T13:00:00.000-06:00

When Loki was a pup, I can only remember a couple of days where she woke me up during the night because she had to do her business. She was supposed to be two months old when I got her, but I'm starting to think that maybe she was a little older than that. Because she quickly became my 6am alarm clock.And after a few months I could actually get her to let me have another hour or two of sleep on the weekends (she'd wake me up around 6am, but after I told her to go back to sleep, she would lie back down, or I'd just let her outside in the back yard.)

Freya has a routine now, too. She's my 3am alarm clock. At which time I put on some warm clothes, take her out of her crate, carry her outside, and let her do her business. Loki accompanies us, of course. Ten to fifteen minutes later I pick her up, carry her up the deck and back inside the house, let her eat and drink a little, and then put her back in the crate. At which point she wakes me up every so often until it's 6am and I let the dogs romp in the back yard again.

Freya's still a very young puppy in so many ways. It'll probably take a couple of months for her to get to the point where she's as mature as Loki was when I got her, and I can remove her "handle with extra care" sign :)

2006-03-21T23:10:00.000-06:00

Is it a dog or is it a white rat?

2006-03-21T23:07:00.000-06:00

Freya playing outside with Loki

2006-03-21T23:06:00.000-06:00

Freya after her first bath .. in the kitchen sink!

2006-03-21T23:03:00.000-06:00

Dual dog snoozefest

2006-03-21T22:57:00.000-06:00

Puppy sleeping positions