About 7 years ago I decided that we needed to choose a specific date to celebrate Bugsy's birthday, like shelter dogs everywhere, no one knows when he was born, or to who. So I thought about it and decided to choose September 1st. September 1st was the birthdate of a colleague of mine's mother. She lived to 101 and was one of the most vibrant, tolerant, energetic, and positive thinking folks I have ever known. It was in the right time frame, so September 1st it is.
Sifting through my emails reminding me to get my senior pet checked, I shake my head and my heart says no!
My happy, crazy, overgrown idiot surely can't be a senior!
Science, however, disagrees. Recently I read a way to calculate his age based on his size and likely breed mix and he's 80+ in human years. I don't actually think Bugsy is going to emotionally age past 25 or so, meaning his older years are bound to be interesting.
He's had knee, elbow and shoulder repair. Cancer scares, horrific allergies and myriad other issues, none of which have changed his joie de vivre.
This morning he looked right at me, grabbed a clump of dried grass that had fallen off the mower and taunted me, hoping I would chase him.
I just said "drop it" and boom! He was zooming, dodging and charging me, flying over shrubs, figure 8's around trees and playing hide and seek behind the cars.
I recall the days in which I was soooo frustrated when he would do this, now I laugh and smile and am ever so thankful that he can still run like this after what he's been through.
Back when he was barely out of puppyhood I started talking about The Daily Zoomie, here we are age 8 and he's still zooming.
From those early days of hardship in managing him; his energy and drive and intellect, to now when we expect it and appreciate it, and know I wouldn't want a dog without those qualities.
Countless adventures, I bear physical scars from some, and joyous experiences, he is such a part of OUR lives I try not to think of when he won't be.
So happy birthday Bugsy, thank you for every laugh and every heart attack.
Thanks for being so damn funny, and so kind (to people and dogs).
Thanks for loving me as much as I love you.
Thanks for teaching me to enjoy every walk, swim, car ride, yard wander, OK everything.
Thanks for showing me true focus and reminding me to live in the moment.
Thanks for being such a willing learner and being tolerant of my mistakes as a trainer.
Mostly, I hope we have plenty of GOOD years left, I selected this day as an omen for a long fun life for you.
Lately there have been several blog posts circulating, written by herding breed owners/enthusiasts, stating that sociable dogs are the scourge of the dog world. Of course what they really describe are obnoxious dogs - interestingly labs are singled out in all the posts as being the worst offenders.
I think the part that really irritates me is that the stand-offish, resource guarding,reactive herding breeds supposedly demonstrate the ideal behavior.
Really?
When describing the behavior of the 'ignorant' and 'foolish' Labradors they say it's like the person that's too in your face. Hmm bring on the goofy sporting breeds please.
Using the analogy with humans, I guess that makes the herding breeds the uppity, stand-offish bitch that looks down on everyone and flies into a rage when approached by the presumed lower classes.
Knew her in high school, and no thanks, not interesting in a dog like that.
I am ever so happy with my friendly dog.
He doesn't hump other dogs or jump on them, he doesn't bark in their face, or bare teeth to try to claim the stick, ball, human or other item.
He will politely greet small, medium & large dogs. He loves puppies and knows to be careful with older dogs too.
He'll ignore the nasty behaviors and ask me to move on by turning away from the nasty herding breeds, or the small dogs with the Napoleon complex. He will ignore the idiot trying to hump him.
He will be non-plussed when your wonderful herding breed attempts to take a chunk out of his neck after the owner asks if he wants to play frisbee and he dares to join in.
Please give me a sea of wagging tails/nubs any day!
Keep your paranoid, edgy, unsocial dog.
I love that my dog truly is friendly.
And I don't mean obnoxious.
He's sociable and happy.
No matter how poorly behaved your dog is, he's not going to retaliate.
I have no idea why the new rules for canines are that they shouldn't be approached by other canines and its reasonable to be reactive and guardy.
I suppose it's a reflection of a wave of paranoia and distrust in society. Where no one should politely say hi as you pass.
For the record, some dogs will always be 'nervy' and unsocial and others obnoxiously boisterous - for those dogs a behaviorist or professional is recommended.
But let's keep some perspective here, a friendly, well-socialized dog is a very good thing.
Stand-offish, reactive and resource guarding are negative traits and behaviors, certainly not what should be held up as correct.
Yesterday I started a new position. It is a long way from home and the days are long.
The days are about to get longer and there won't be days where I am fully 'off' for quite some time.
I am not sure what vibes I sent out but somehow Bugsy was aware that things were about to change and radically so.
I tried to tell myself I was imagining it.
Then my husband told me that all of yesterday (my first day), Bugsy stayed under the dining room table and ran to grab a toy (never greet your human without a gift) if he *thought* he heard something.
Then when I came home, oh my.
OH. MY.
He was out with Steve in the yard and when he saw me turn towards the drive he came galloping across the lawn.
It was like a sappy Hallmark movie where the star crossed lovers finally meet.
He was soooooooooooooo happy. Ridiculously happy. As if I had left him for months happy.
I was overwhelmed with emotion. I figured he would be happy to see me, but not THIS happy.
Whew. I had taken him for a pre-work walk and I also took him for a post-walk work. That seemed to settle him.
Day two
I woke up a bit before 5 and he rolled over on his bed asking for a belly rub. I obliged.
Then I put on walking clothing and headed downstairs to put some coffee on. I looked and saw he was at the back door with his tail wagging, "ready Ma!"
That's my morning dog for you - one day and he says the new routine rocks!
Then in a blur of motion I left. Steve was teaching today too so he left the same time.
Steve said when he got home. Bugsy didn't even get up. Nary a tail wag. And wasn't going out for nothing.
Gulp.
Eventually he got up and Steve fed him.
Then once again my boys were in the yard when I pulled up.
Oh Bugsy, everyone should just once feel so loved as you display for me.
After being wrangled and held by Steve, he charged towards me. Immediately bursting into zoomies which led to keep away with some cardboard.
We eventually made it inside and his little heart was bursting with joy.
Again I felt happy to see how happy he was to see ME but also felt badly.
Poor guy.
One can't explain to them, so I am doing what I can to keep our bond but change our outings and adventures as I can to fit them in.
He was ever so hopeful I'd take him on another walk tonight. I didn't.
I did try to do some of our wobble board work and let's just say that he took overexcited to a new level so we had to end that immediately while we both had all our limbs and digits intact.
I know he'll adjust and be calmer about my arrivals.
Part of me loves the outpouring but a larger and more responsible part of me hates to see him be so worked up.
My days are about to get longer and I wonder how long I'll be able to be out walking him at 5am and still working at 9pm.
I will guarantee you, that I have promised him I will do it for as long as I can and every day possible.
As I wrote a few weeks ago, its a bond that is forged through effort and commitment.
I promise you Bugsy, for as long as you live or I live, I will do all that I can. Promise.
And I am not known for breaking promises.
Why he wears the moniker Maestro of mischief.
He was out in the yard this morning, looking for creatures.
I watched him through the window for a while, then decided to get a fresh cup of coffee.
When I looked back out, no Bugsy.
I wandered around looking through different windows, no Bugsy.
Hmm. Ah well, he'll turn up. He did, with an empty pasta box in his mouth, that he got from the garage where I had the doors opened about a foot to let some air in.
So my 29" at the shoulders dog slinked under the garage door that was open a foot, found the recycling pile, selected just the right box, crawled back under the garage door, came charging onto the deck and through the dog door with the box in his mouth, staring into our sunroom with trouble in his eyes and tail wagging furiously.
"let me in"
"No, drop the box"
wiggle wiggle waggle
"DROP"
paws the door
So dumb me opens the door and tries to take the box from his mouth.
Whoosh! he's past me.
Sigh.
"Bugsy give me the box"
wiggle wiggle waggle with a look that said "chase me, Mom!!"
"I am not going to chase you, let's trade"
His furry brow furrowed.
"Nope not giving you the box until the treat goes in the ball."
"Really dog???"
So off I went to collect his orbee ball and find a treat to put in it.
Once the ball was loaded to his satisfaction, he traded the box for the ball.
All was good for at least 2 minutes.
LOL
Bugsy is not an affectionate dog.
Well he loves you and will show you that he loves you but he isn't the dog that is going to snuggle up with you or allow you to pet him.
I accept this about him and am happy when he chooses to lie down within 5 feet of me.
However, I have seen our bond deepen, day by day, event by event and outing by outing.
Oh, and injury by injury.
Sadly, we have spent a lot of time rehabbing. Bugsy doesn't seem to mind but its been hard on me.
I have been able to see though that my involvement in rehabbing - which has been solely my involvement - has deepened our bond.
Training classes, field work, and all 'silly' training have deepened that bond too.
By silly training, I mean the little bits of clicker training we do just to use his brain for a bit or the little games we play also to use some energy.
Our lake trips and downtown trips and car trips all include some type of communication that is training based. And each one adds to our bond.
I marvel sometimes now at our communication. I smiled earlier as he was standing on the deck looking into the kitchen and all I had to do was give him a look and he came in.
That is a bond.
Too often I find that people have expectations that dogs fully understand human communication and ways, some do, but only when effort by the human has led to the depth of bond for the dog to know what is desired.
Each of us, as a dog owner is responsible for creating a communication system with our dog(s). They excel at interpreting our communication but only when we are consistent and work WITH them.
Some times I am sad that Bugsy is going to be 8, at his size he's been a senior since he was 5, but in other ways I understand why the love for an older dog is deeper than when they are young.
I miss the youthful nuttiness, don't get me wrong, but there is something powerful about looking into your dogs eyes and seeing the bond, that is born of time.
I suppose that some people experience this when their dogs are young, I didn't. So I equate this incredibly deep bond with his age and the time and energy spent in teaching him what I want and helping him to recover from orthopedic surgeries.
I pray that you don't need to rehab your dog, but if you do, I assure you that the time and emotional energy you put into their rehab isn't lost on them.
They know.
And they are thankful
Bugsy is prone to getting excited.
This is a huge understatement.
He absolutely loves 'learning', grab a clicker and watch him spin.
I have recently built a wobble board for him. This is basically an unstable board that he needs to balance his weight on. I am using it as part of his rehab from shoulder & elbow surgery.
He, as always, boldly goes on it and waits for his click/treat after which he launches off it at all sorts of crazy angles, risking life and limb to get off it.
A bit of an overreaction but hey that's how he rolls.
Last night I decided it was time to increase the challenge and affixed a small bowl under the board.
I used glue to do it, to help it set, I put a large book and a 5 lb dumbbell on top of the book.
So this morning he followed me up to where it was and proceeded to stand on the board, pick up the dumbbell and toss it to the side, paw at the book to knock it off and look at me for a click/treat.
This occurred in, I don't know, 10 seconds or less?
I struggled to get him OFF the upside down board but eventually I succeeded.
While I was turning the 4 foot by 4 foot board, he was attempting to stand on it.
Up until then, I kind of thought he had two brain cells that connected. LOL
OK finally I got the board in position and he jumped on it, the surprised look on his face as it wobbled was awesome. But he steadied and waited for his treat before making another high risk exit.
Why oh why can he not go SLOW?
Anyway try as I might to not laugh, it was hysterical.
I bet we worked with it for less than two minutes then I had to stop due to his high risk board exits getting faster and riskier.
He looked like I was running video on fast forward.
I honestly have no capacity to slow him down - he walks fast, goes up and down stairs fast, eats fast, tries to 'work' fast, and goes to sleep fast.
He just has the one gear and OFF.
When I picked the board up, the bowl was no longer attached and had broken.
Ah well, we'll try again another day.
Hey its been a long time since Bugsy was well Bugsy.
I've been noticing the glint in his eye was getting sparklier and sparklier, and today was the day.
Those who know him know his prey drive - for large birds in particular - is rather high, *cough, cough*. We have had many adventurous trips to the local lake due to this special drive of his.
However, starting all the way back in September when we first started rehabbing his shoulder (prior to surgery), he's been remarkably easy to handle at the lake. He was pretty much like a normal dog LOL
Today though was the day.
I knew he was full of the devil and that his battery was fully charged early this morning.
I could tell when we arrived at the lake that his whining and spinning in the car was exceptional, I was going to have to be on the ball.
We followed our routine with me setting up the boat, parking, taking him out and suiting him up (Ruffwear PFD, floating drag line with climbing strength carabiner, and e-collar) and sending him to the boat with me in tow.
He bolted to the water today and was bouncing and bouncing waiting for me to throw his toy. I heaved it as far as I could and zoom off he went.
For the first time, he had reached the toy before I even was fully launched into the water.
He swam a LONG way and then I steered him towards our little dock we use as a pitstop.
On the end of our little dock was a cormorant drying its wings.
He caught wind of it and made a beeline for it! It flew off a little too close for comfort.
If you've seen a cormorant 'take off' you know they are lousy flyers and their wings slap the water over and over before they are fully airborne.
Feathered wings slapping water are very exciting if you are a dog who loves large water fowl.
Happily after a short consideration he decided to come to me instead of chasing the bird.
In what is totally new, he belly flopped off the dock a few times. He would likely say he dock dived and for him it is huge. I am hoping he continues to improve his form LOL
I think you'll agree that belly flop is a more accurate term
So after a few of those it was time to go for another long swim back to our landing area.
This is where the fun begins, thanks for sticking with me here.
He set out as per normal and then he clearly got scent of the cormorant again.
This time it had perched to dry its wings on one of the "no wake zone" markers.
These are a good way out in the lake.
So now he's swimming at a good clip, retriever dummy in his mouth, nose high and working.
"where is that damn bird!"
I assure you that is what he was thinking
I allowed him to wander, at times he lost the scent and circled but he'd pick it up again.
Meanwhile I followed behind and tried to shoo the cormorant, who at the least was smart enough to draw in its wings and be very still.
Bugsy closed in on it and when he got pretty darn close it finally took off.
So did Bugsy.
He picked up speed, was high yipping and whining as the bird slapped the water and flew off.
OK now he's really out in the lake, this is a BIG lake.
He's blowing me off (still carrying his toy though) and going in the direction of the bird. Sigh.
Memories.
I finally sidled up next to him - despite him trying to pull away from me - at one point I was holding him with the oar LOL (So glad he isn't very spookable) - and was able to grab hold of his line and attempt to turn him around.
Note to self. Bugsy is now a strong swimmer, wearing a good PFD, I am in a unanchored boat that only moves when I paddle. This was a fail.
Ah well - in the end I was able to convince him the bird was on the shoreline and he swam back to where we needed to go.
Here's a little bit of video I captured before having to make catching him my main concern
Its been a long time since Bugsy was Bugsy. I know I shouldn't be wearing a smile as I recount this episode but I am.
I realize that subsequent lake trips have just become more work for me, but I'm wonderfully happy about that (now anyway).
So welcome back Bugsy! I've missed you <3 p="">
PS that swim from 'our' dock to the shore line was 25 minutes or so of intense cormorant chasing, direction fighting with me, kayak bashing swimming.
Add in the first swim and he was hard swimming for about 40-45 minutes. I'm exhausted thinking about it!
