The photo is courtesy of Miss Molly McMullen and was taken in Ocean City, Maryland Labor Day weekend 2004 I believe.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Don't kiss Leroy
Turns out that if I only blog when I have something interesting to say, I never blog. Instead, I’ll update you all on a series of mundane happenings in my life. I hope you enjoy the redesign (if picking a different template and clicking okay counts as a redesign) of the site. During the dreariness of this season, I thought a bit of brightness could be nice.
Monday was our first puppy school class with puppies (the first was parents only). The teacher tried to put certain dogs in certain corners so as to minimize barking. She made the mistake of putting Leroy in the center of the room. He took turns setting off 3 other dogs into barking matches. The teacher used him as an example for two exercises and he proved that he will enthusiastically do anything for food.
Jack is homeschooled on Tuesday nights. This means one of us takes him into a room and shuts the door to work on the exercises we learned in class. Leroy sits outside the door and complains. Apparently Jack’s natural obedience is more a product of his lack of curiosity and laziness. Mostly when I do the exercises with him he stares at me with a sort of blank/confused look on his face. He is not accustomed to having to do anything more than sit and/or balance things on his head for treats.
And for the final and unfortunate puppy-related update—Leroy is a poop eater. His own, other dogs’, it doesn’t matter to him. I think Leroy equates walk time with open buffet time more than potty time. The first time I realized he had something in his mouth on a walk I made the unwise choice to go in after it. I do not make that mistake anymore. I have seen dogs eat poop before, but never with this kind of gusto.
Monday was our first puppy school class with puppies (the first was parents only). The teacher tried to put certain dogs in certain corners so as to minimize barking. She made the mistake of putting Leroy in the center of the room. He took turns setting off 3 other dogs into barking matches. The teacher used him as an example for two exercises and he proved that he will enthusiastically do anything for food.
Jack is homeschooled on Tuesday nights. This means one of us takes him into a room and shuts the door to work on the exercises we learned in class. Leroy sits outside the door and complains. Apparently Jack’s natural obedience is more a product of his lack of curiosity and laziness. Mostly when I do the exercises with him he stares at me with a sort of blank/confused look on his face. He is not accustomed to having to do anything more than sit and/or balance things on his head for treats.
And for the final and unfortunate puppy-related update—Leroy is a poop eater. His own, other dogs’, it doesn’t matter to him. I think Leroy equates walk time with open buffet time more than potty time. The first time I realized he had something in his mouth on a walk I made the unwise choice to go in after it. I do not make that mistake anymore. I have seen dogs eat poop before, but never with this kind of gusto.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Close to a resolution
I watched Oprah last night and this week it’s all about living your best life. I thought about how it might be nice to drink less, eat healthier, and exercise more. Maybe I’d even start some of those gummy Flintstone vitamins. Kenny pointed out that we’d have to do all of those things when we had a baby anyway. No need to start now. I still might try those gummy vitamins.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Important Matters
Leroy is going to go to school to learn how to be a good boy. He is a good dog at the moment in that I have no doubt he would survive in the wild and keep himself well fed. We’re going to start him in a class where we give him treats in exchange for not being so dog-ish and also not so mountain goatish. We keep finding him sitting on top of things like his cage, his food container, our countertops.
Last night Kenny forgot that we have two dogs. Jack is comparatively quiet and hard to see. You’re usually all—hey, where’s Jack? Only to realize he is directly behind you or next to you. Last night I heard Jack crying and thought perhaps his collar had gotten stuck to a blanket or something. As I was already in bed and thus unable to move, I asked Kenny to find out what was wrong with Jack. He said, “Oh he’s fine. He’s sitting on the couch.” I called Jack. Leroy came. Jack continued to cry. It was then that Kenny realized the crying was coming from the hallway outside our apartment. Apparently Jack did not make it back through the door after Kenny had taken the boys out about ten minutes prior. He must have sat there for at least five minutes without making a sound—patiently waiting for his father to remember him.
Man I talk about my dogs a lot. Sorry about that. I will think of something not dog related for next time.
Last night Kenny forgot that we have two dogs. Jack is comparatively quiet and hard to see. You’re usually all—hey, where’s Jack? Only to realize he is directly behind you or next to you. Last night I heard Jack crying and thought perhaps his collar had gotten stuck to a blanket or something. As I was already in bed and thus unable to move, I asked Kenny to find out what was wrong with Jack. He said, “Oh he’s fine. He’s sitting on the couch.” I called Jack. Leroy came. Jack continued to cry. It was then that Kenny realized the crying was coming from the hallway outside our apartment. Apparently Jack did not make it back through the door after Kenny had taken the boys out about ten minutes prior. He must have sat there for at least five minutes without making a sound—patiently waiting for his father to remember him.
Man I talk about my dogs a lot. Sorry about that. I will think of something not dog related for next time.
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