Earlier this evening we attended a party called,"Down at the Tracks" . This is an annual event organized by our SPCA that takes place at an outdoor shopping area and has live bands, lots of fun vendors, food trucks and wonderful beer that is free with admission.
True to form Bugsy sniffed every dog butt he could.....and that was a lot.
He ate as many treats as he could, knocked over two beers (attempting to drink the second one), had an impromptu training session which was beyond comical, got loving from teeny little girls and many other humans, kissing each whether they liked it or not, and even settled on a patch of grass for a few minutes.
Unsurprisingly after nearly 2 hours of Bugsy style partying aka chaos, he is now completely zonked out, snoring and emitting putrid gas, the result of too much variety in his intake.
I am always amazed at these events, so many dogs of all ages & sizes and there never seems to be a problem. I am impressed by the attitude of small dog owners who seem relaxed and not worried about interactions with large dogs. So often owners of small dogs seem to fear large dogs.
I find myself giggling as Bugsy sticks his nose in the butt of a 200lb great dane and laugh when the owners of two placid bloodhounds say that Bugsy will be less excitable when he gets older, they seem shocked when I tell them he is six, their two are 5 & 7.
He is so ridiculously happy in these settings. He is hard to manage due to his excitability but it's always worth it. And no doubt it is better that he loves being social than if it was stressful.
Luckily he can sleep it off now. :)
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Totally biased
But I really love my boy. He truly puts a huge smile on my face and I find myself wondering how I got so lucky to have him in my life.
Yes he is not the easiest dog but in some ways he is easy.
For instance, this morning a young pup came to play with him. She is at best 10 lbs and I have no fear he'll step on her or snap at her. He play bowed and was ever so gentle even though she is WILD he remains controlled.
Or consider his gentle taking of treats
Or that he has always had a predilection for lying down on a square so if there is a towel or blanket or bed, he's on it
He's happy. 24/7 happy. Greets each day as if he knows he's lucky to be alive.
Spins in circles every day when you dress to take him for a walk
And greets your every entrance so enthusiastically you can't help but be happy to be home.
Continuing my bias, he's so handsome, athletic, and sleek. I admit I look at him in awe.
I have for years wanted to add another dog to our home, yet I sometimes realize that this one takes a lot of effort.
Bugsy you are worth the sacrifices.......and much much more
Yes he is not the easiest dog but in some ways he is easy.
For instance, this morning a young pup came to play with him. She is at best 10 lbs and I have no fear he'll step on her or snap at her. He play bowed and was ever so gentle even though she is WILD he remains controlled.
Or consider his gentle taking of treats
Or that he has always had a predilection for lying down on a square so if there is a towel or blanket or bed, he's on it
He's happy. 24/7 happy. Greets each day as if he knows he's lucky to be alive.
Spins in circles every day when you dress to take him for a walk
And greets your every entrance so enthusiastically you can't help but be happy to be home.
Continuing my bias, he's so handsome, athletic, and sleek. I admit I look at him in awe.
I have for years wanted to add another dog to our home, yet I sometimes realize that this one takes a lot of effort.
Bugsy you are worth the sacrifices.......and much much more
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Why can't he.......
Understand what 'later', 'tomorrow' mean?
Is it so difficult for a dog that somehow knows it's a Sunday and it's 8 am so he needs to go look out the window because his friend is coming, to get these simple concepts?
I am guilty of talking to him regularly so he understands more English than I planned on him knowing, which means we have to spell things fairly often or risk setting off his adrenal glands and dealing with the consequences, but he sure doesn't know what 'later' or 'tomorrow' mean!
For instance he was really up my butt earlier, clearly wishing I would DO something with him ( he had an enforced rest day so had only a 1.5 mile walk this morning) so I said, "I promise tomorrow we'll have a really long walk".
All he heard was WALK!
Try telling him that he'll go in the car later and watch the spinning begin
It's kind of fascinating because he picks up so many unintentional cues and pieces them together and draws a conclusion about what I am doing next that I am surprised that he hears "walk tomorrow" and acts like it will happen immediately. He knows the sequence of events leading up to a walk and one would think that the word 'walk' without the other cues wouldn't have so much meaning to him, but it does.
Somehow I am going to work on teaching 'later' and 'tomorrow'. I am not overly hopeful of success but seeing that he has learned so much of the language on is own I figure it's worth a try.
Hmmmm not sure how to even start though
Is it so difficult for a dog that somehow knows it's a Sunday and it's 8 am so he needs to go look out the window because his friend is coming, to get these simple concepts?
I am guilty of talking to him regularly so he understands more English than I planned on him knowing, which means we have to spell things fairly often or risk setting off his adrenal glands and dealing with the consequences, but he sure doesn't know what 'later' or 'tomorrow' mean!
For instance he was really up my butt earlier, clearly wishing I would DO something with him ( he had an enforced rest day so had only a 1.5 mile walk this morning) so I said, "I promise tomorrow we'll have a really long walk".
All he heard was WALK!
Try telling him that he'll go in the car later and watch the spinning begin
It's kind of fascinating because he picks up so many unintentional cues and pieces them together and draws a conclusion about what I am doing next that I am surprised that he hears "walk tomorrow" and acts like it will happen immediately. He knows the sequence of events leading up to a walk and one would think that the word 'walk' without the other cues wouldn't have so much meaning to him, but it does.
Somehow I am going to work on teaching 'later' and 'tomorrow'. I am not overly hopeful of success but seeing that he has learned so much of the language on is own I figure it's worth a try.
Hmmmm not sure how to even start though
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