Took Suka & Lin to the Fair Hill Highland Games this weekend past - It was fine spring weather, and I've missed the games the last few years.
Didn't have a whole lot of time to spend - Lin was due for a chorale performance later in the afternoon - but I wanted to give Suka some more social time, and she did us proud! She doesn't mind bagpipes, but LOUD is not her friend, and Highland Gatherings are pretty much, by definition, loud! That not withstanding, she was quite the little lady, and I'm very pleased with her.
She actually barked a couple times as we were getting close - unusual for her; highly excited! Once parked, she was charmingly well-behaved, excepting that she was prone to forgetting the tension on the lead, and had to be corrected a couple of times to remind her not to pull. Other than that, she was perfect - Good dog manners with the other dogs, good people manners, and most especially, good 'strange child' manners!
It helps that the vast majority of people at the gathering had good manners themselves, and behaved well. Only once did I have to instruct a kid on the proper approach in an unfamiliar dog, and she got the lesson right away, and happily complied. I think, because this is a dog-friendly event, that we had a crowd more clued-in to the proper and expected behaviors.
Whilst there, she again stuck her nose into every interesting scent she could find, and showed the most signs of stress when the wind shifted, and a new wave of scent would waft over us. When that happened, she was all over impatient to get moving along and investigate the news scents. As soon as we started moving again, the pressure came off, and she was happy again.
Going back and forth through the venue, Suka made many new friends, canine and human both. I gathered up a large quantity of buinsess contacts in regards to merchandise for my wife whom couldn't be there, and generally enjoyed the walk. After about an hour and a half, Suka began to burn out, and made "looking for shelter" motions, so we went ahead and departed. As usual, she was just as happy to bounce into the car on leaving as she was to bounce out on arrival... I think she simply likes getting in and out of cars. :p
Lin was also spot-on for behavior. This was the first time I've turned her loose at a gathering to investigate on her own, and she was perfect - Didn't give me a single new grey hair! She was also very popular with the kids that wanted to pet Suka, and one particularly charming little girl latched on to Lin and was ready to take her home! Yeah, I'm exceedingly proud of my child, but ya know? She makes it easy. :-)
No, no pictures - I was too busy and torn too many different ways to take snaps.
Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Mud Puppy!
It's been raining.
OK, so this was all just an excuse to post a cute picture of a repentantly muddy beast... ;-)
Anyway, mad scramble to clean up the dog before Ian and I headed off to collect Jenn again. She wears formal black when performing, and I was quite sure she'd have been less-than-charmed to have been greeted by the ambulatory mud-clod on her return.
Needless to say, when we returned, guess who was outside and playing in the rain and mud again..? Teenagers... Not only not quite bright enough to come in out of the rain, but also crazy enough to go right back out into it as soon as your back is turned. :-p Fortunately, I saw what was up before we opened the front door, and was able to intercept Suka before she splashed Jenn, whom made an inspired sneak-n-dash upstairs before the dog could enthusiastically greet her in a very muddy fashion.
And just so you know; This is what Suka looks like after being cleaned. The second time.
Much, much rain. Seattle weather, to be honest. :-p
Jenn was out at one of her Chorale's performances this evening, in the pounding rain. I left Lin in charge of herself and Suka whilst I took Ian with me to deliver Jenn to her car pool to the performance. I come back to find that Lin and Suka have taken the opportunity to play in the rain (They're a matched set of lunatics, IMO). Anyway: dog; outside; pouring rain... I'm sure y'all know where this is headed...
This is what happens when it rains...
OK, so this was all just an excuse to post a cute picture of a repentantly muddy beast... ;-)
Anyway, mad scramble to clean up the dog before Ian and I headed off to collect Jenn again. She wears formal black when performing, and I was quite sure she'd have been less-than-charmed to have been greeted by the ambulatory mud-clod on her return.
Needless to say, when we returned, guess who was outside and playing in the rain and mud again..? Teenagers... Not only not quite bright enough to come in out of the rain, but also crazy enough to go right back out into it as soon as your back is turned. :-p Fortunately, I saw what was up before we opened the front door, and was able to intercept Suka before she splashed Jenn, whom made an inspired sneak-n-dash upstairs before the dog could enthusiastically greet her in a very muddy fashion.
And just so you know; This is what Suka looks like after being cleaned. The second time.
All better now - Time to nap.
That's all. :-p
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A pleasant evening's stroll
No pictures. :-p
Jenn and I took an evening to just be. The kids were at my mother's place for the evening, and we took Suka down to main street, and went walking. Glorious weather, perfect night... Cool but comfortable for t-shirts; the day's light breeze tempering down to the merest hint of a breath - just enough to waft scents from the numerous restaurants along. Being the first really excellent weather of spring, the college students were out in mass force, spilling out of bars, chatting in the sidewalk-seating of the various restaurants, walking, joking, moving from party to party. One street over, there's a frat house that always has live music on Saturday nights... Local college bands, many of whom are quite good. Walking along, the music filled in the missing peices of atmosphere.
Suka was generally well-behaved, though there were a few examples of uncertain barking at people she found to be exceptionally strange - smokers all, and mostly men. I need to work on that - We've been neglecting her socialization; Shame on me! However, as I've no doubt said too many times, she's a good dog, and took correction well, and was willing to make friends with those strange burning people... Or at least was willing to accept that they weren't a threat, and accept a bit of scritching from them after suitable introduction. I have to say the college students were really game, working with me to help defuse Suka's anxiety with their good nature and cooperation.
Despite a thousand opportunities to snarf spilled food, raid public trash cans, and otherwise ingest things she ought not eat, she didn't take one single scrap of food from anywhere but my own hands; she really isn't food driven. :-D Instead, Suka put her nose into every nook and cranny where an interesting scent might be found - Scent driven, she most certainly is!
Jenn and I sat down at a favored spot, California Tortilla ( http://www.californiatortilla.com/ ), and I watched the world go by with Suka whilst Jenn went in and placed our orders. Suka was a bit anxious to get moving along again and sniff more scents - I spent maybe fifteen minutes working on getting her to settle. Settling in public is another thing that I've been neglecting; well, last night was a good chance to work on it. As we were eating, my sister and brother-in-law walked past, and also ordered. We didn't pester them, though - It was too perfect an evening, and we didn't want to intrude on their evening.
Of course, college kids being college kids, and this being a Saturday night, someone had to get stupid; every patrol car in town pulled up in front of the shop and a small swarm of blue uniforms went purposefully down the alley and into the parking lot behind the building. There are a couple bars fronting onto that parking lot, and some drama was going on. Dunno what exactly it was, but shortly, a large swarm of college kids came back out of the alley, and one kid was frog-marched out. I love small-town police - They basically walked this kid along, all in a big gaggle, two officers supporting and moving him along, the rest kinda chatting; with the kid, with each other. If it weren't for the uniforms and the handcuffs, it'd have looked like any other group of strollers out for the evening air. Suka, having settled by this point, was supremely indifferent to it all.
Strolled a bit more afterwards, stopped by Cold Stone Creamery ( http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/ ) for some really evil concoction of Jenn's, and finished up our walk juggling soda, icecream, dog, and conversation with random people who wanted to meet Suka.
Really a pleasant evening, even with the drama.
Jenn and I took an evening to just be. The kids were at my mother's place for the evening, and we took Suka down to main street, and went walking. Glorious weather, perfect night... Cool but comfortable for t-shirts; the day's light breeze tempering down to the merest hint of a breath - just enough to waft scents from the numerous restaurants along. Being the first really excellent weather of spring, the college students were out in mass force, spilling out of bars, chatting in the sidewalk-seating of the various restaurants, walking, joking, moving from party to party. One street over, there's a frat house that always has live music on Saturday nights... Local college bands, many of whom are quite good. Walking along, the music filled in the missing peices of atmosphere.
Suka was generally well-behaved, though there were a few examples of uncertain barking at people she found to be exceptionally strange - smokers all, and mostly men. I need to work on that - We've been neglecting her socialization; Shame on me! However, as I've no doubt said too many times, she's a good dog, and took correction well, and was willing to make friends with those strange burning people... Or at least was willing to accept that they weren't a threat, and accept a bit of scritching from them after suitable introduction. I have to say the college students were really game, working with me to help defuse Suka's anxiety with their good nature and cooperation.
Despite a thousand opportunities to snarf spilled food, raid public trash cans, and otherwise ingest things she ought not eat, she didn't take one single scrap of food from anywhere but my own hands; she really isn't food driven. :-D Instead, Suka put her nose into every nook and cranny where an interesting scent might be found - Scent driven, she most certainly is!
Jenn and I sat down at a favored spot, California Tortilla ( http://www.californiatortilla.com/ ), and I watched the world go by with Suka whilst Jenn went in and placed our orders. Suka was a bit anxious to get moving along again and sniff more scents - I spent maybe fifteen minutes working on getting her to settle. Settling in public is another thing that I've been neglecting; well, last night was a good chance to work on it. As we were eating, my sister and brother-in-law walked past, and also ordered. We didn't pester them, though - It was too perfect an evening, and we didn't want to intrude on their evening.
Of course, college kids being college kids, and this being a Saturday night, someone had to get stupid; every patrol car in town pulled up in front of the shop and a small swarm of blue uniforms went purposefully down the alley and into the parking lot behind the building. There are a couple bars fronting onto that parking lot, and some drama was going on. Dunno what exactly it was, but shortly, a large swarm of college kids came back out of the alley, and one kid was frog-marched out. I love small-town police - They basically walked this kid along, all in a big gaggle, two officers supporting and moving him along, the rest kinda chatting; with the kid, with each other. If it weren't for the uniforms and the handcuffs, it'd have looked like any other group of strollers out for the evening air. Suka, having settled by this point, was supremely indifferent to it all.
Strolled a bit more afterwards, stopped by Cold Stone Creamery ( http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/ ) for some really evil concoction of Jenn's, and finished up our walk juggling soda, icecream, dog, and conversation with random people who wanted to meet Suka.
Really a pleasant evening, even with the drama.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Skunk Catastrophe; Averted
Suka has a routine - Don't all dogs? - that requires that I let her out into the pre-dawn air for her first 'business' call of the day. Letting her out is the second thing I do after waking, only following behind pulling my wellies & coat on. It's a nice time of the day, even if I am a bit muzzy-headed with sleep, and even if it's bitterly cold - The neighborhood is quiet, the Rude Dogs are still sleeping, no one is hammering at me for crisis deliverables, and I can stand there, watch Suka as she sniffs her way about the yard, and just be. It's a zen moment - a chance to open myself to the posibilities of the day.
When let into the yard, Suka patrols the boundaries, nose to the grass, checking out all the new scents that have accumulated from the night previous. She first jets straight to the back fence, to see if the Rude Dogs on the other side are available - I don't let her fence run, but she still wants to check attendance. Then she'll hook to the right, pass behind the shed, turn and follow the chainlink of the neighbor's fenceline, then cross the yard to my left, hook right again, and follow the fence back under the large pine in the corner. Only after she's done the patrol will she do her business, and run back for the house.
This morning, we awoke to a hard frost; Winter may be over, but it's leaving behind calling cards. Suka started her patrol, and as she passed behind the shed, I saw something waddle out from under the shed, headed the opposite direction... Something low, long, fluffy, and white. No - Not a cat. A skunk. A BIG skunk. Yeah, I know - Traditionally, skunks are BLACK and white. Not always, though - We've got some cocker spaniel-sized skunks around here that are predominantly white or cream, and this was one of them. My zen moment vanished in a puff of horror; Suka was within feet of one of the largest skunks I've ever seen, and she's a fiend for interesting scents...
'Left' went the skunk... 'Right' went Suka... 'OMG' went I...
Left, left, left... Right, right, right... OMGOMGOMGOMG...
Suka hooked right at the corner... The skunk vanished under the pine... Suka started to cross back to the left... I was frozen, afraid that any action might precipitate the event I feared...
Then I saw the pale bundle of fur waddling through the neighbors yard; Safe! A heartbeat later, Suka saw it too, and charged the fence, but it was already too late for her to ruin my day; The skunk was out of reach.
Sometimes, you get exactly what you pray for.
For those of you whome don't know about it, there IS an effective remedy for 'skunked' dogs; invented by research chemist Paul Krebaum, it uses common household products, and it works. There may be some slight bleaching, but, in my opinion at least, a pale dog is MUCH better than a skunked dog. I keep the ingredients in the house, just to be on the safe side. Thankfully, I didn't need it today. However, for your reference:
http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/
http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/sk00001.htm
When let into the yard, Suka patrols the boundaries, nose to the grass, checking out all the new scents that have accumulated from the night previous. She first jets straight to the back fence, to see if the Rude Dogs on the other side are available - I don't let her fence run, but she still wants to check attendance. Then she'll hook to the right, pass behind the shed, turn and follow the chainlink of the neighbor's fenceline, then cross the yard to my left, hook right again, and follow the fence back under the large pine in the corner. Only after she's done the patrol will she do her business, and run back for the house.
This morning, we awoke to a hard frost; Winter may be over, but it's leaving behind calling cards. Suka started her patrol, and as she passed behind the shed, I saw something waddle out from under the shed, headed the opposite direction... Something low, long, fluffy, and white. No - Not a cat. A skunk. A BIG skunk. Yeah, I know - Traditionally, skunks are BLACK and white. Not always, though - We've got some cocker spaniel-sized skunks around here that are predominantly white or cream, and this was one of them. My zen moment vanished in a puff of horror; Suka was within feet of one of the largest skunks I've ever seen, and she's a fiend for interesting scents...
'Left' went the skunk... 'Right' went Suka... 'OMG' went I...
Left, left, left... Right, right, right... OMGOMGOMGOMG...
Suka hooked right at the corner... The skunk vanished under the pine... Suka started to cross back to the left... I was frozen, afraid that any action might precipitate the event I feared...
Then I saw the pale bundle of fur waddling through the neighbors yard; Safe! A heartbeat later, Suka saw it too, and charged the fence, but it was already too late for her to ruin my day; The skunk was out of reach.
Sometimes, you get exactly what you pray for.
For those of you whome don't know about it, there IS an effective remedy for 'skunked' dogs; invented by research chemist Paul Krebaum, it uses common household products, and it works. There may be some slight bleaching, but, in my opinion at least, a pale dog is MUCH better than a skunked dog. I keep the ingredients in the house, just to be on the safe side. Thankfully, I didn't need it today. However, for your reference:
http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/
http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/sk00001.htm
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday in the Park
These photos were taken just six days after the photos in the previous post... What a difference a few days makes!
No, there's no love here...
OK, OK - Don't cry - I still love you, you big sissy!
Lots of room to explore!
The periodic flooding means that the land is useless for almost any purpose, other than public parkland. And most of teh time, it's useless for that, too... Flooded, or soaked and muddy. Nothing much, other than flood-resistant trees grows here. There are swingsets and slides and ball parks sattered through the park, but most are damaged beyond safe use by the frequent washouts.
Nothing much to look at, but, oh! The scents!
Probably a death wound
Anyway, winter is gone... Spring is here. Soon, the park will be flooding every other weekend... Time to enjoy it whilst we can!
Lin walking Suka into the neighborhood park
No, there's no love here...
Neener-neener, Dad! I'm sucking up to Lin today! :-p
OK, OK - Don't cry - I still love you, you big sissy!
For a "pocket park," there's a surprisingly large number of acres here... Just behind the treeline runs White Clay Creek, which give our neighborhood a micro-climate substantially more cool that the rest of the county. White Clay Creek is nearly a small river, and frequently floods into the flat grassy area you see here:
Lots of room to explore!
The periodic flooding means that the land is useless for almost any purpose, other than public parkland. And most of teh time, it's useless for that, too... Flooded, or soaked and muddy. Nothing much, other than flood-resistant trees grows here. There are swingsets and slides and ball parks sattered through the park, but most are damaged beyond safe use by the frequent washouts.
Nothing much to look at, but, oh! The scents!
At the entrance ot the park, there's this huge old pine tree, which I love to look at... It's got character. The hole here is big enough for Suka to curl up inside.
Probably a death wound
Anyway, winter is gone... Spring is here. Soon, the park will be flooding every other weekend... Time to enjoy it whilst we can!
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