Good Times With The Dog...

Chili and I had some good times last night and this morning. We worked on our obedience "homework" after supper last night. I had bought a "stadium beef hot dog" during my weekly grocery shopping and I diced it for use as rewards during obedience work. It worked very well as Chili responded nicely to my every command. I need to test her with better distractions and I'll try to get her over to Grant's Trail tonight when it cools off some. As dusk approached, I watered my flowers. I let Chili off her leash because she doesn't usually stray too far. Her curiosity began getting the better of her so I ended up tieing her leash to my belt loop so she'd stay by my side. She'd done pretty well so I misted her down with the hose nozzle to cool her off.

We went on our usual morning walk, shorter this time because it's so muggy and when we returned, she ate all her food! I had brought more hot dog along on the walk and rewarded her periodically so maybe that awakened her taste buds. She laid quietly by my bed as I did my morning devotional and watched curiously as I got dressed for work. I loaded up her Kong with some doggie biscuits to keep her busy while I ate breakfast.

Very satisfying times, indeed.

Collared!...

Chili is wearing the collar. She has a bad scrape on the inside of her left rear leg and she was licking it. After obedience class today, we stopped in at the HSMO vet and got her fitted for an "Elizabethan Collar" as they call it politely. It will be on her for the next 7 days as I treat the scrape with Neosporin ointment.

We did start obedience at HSMO this morning. Their classes are run by the Greater St. Louis Training Club. There are 3 other dogs in the beginners' class with Chili. She was predictably excited and distracted but she handled herself well overall. I have a list of basic concepts to work on with her so we can test out to the next level. I don't know how successful we will be with the collar on her but I'll work as hard as she will.

Completely unrelated: my home-improvements aren't quite done. The other day Chili and I were out in my backyard and my retired neighbor waved me toward the fence. He pointed at the branches of one of my oak trees. "These branches, on my roof, it's no good!" (He's of eastern European background.) The problem is my oak trees are mature and massive. Their branches are far-reaching, and do droop onto my neighbor's roof. In the interest of being a good neighbor, I called a tree service and got an estimate post-haste. The arborist looked at them and estimated trimming them and removing a dying maple that's planted in an odd place anyway. Looks like that'll be happening in the near future.

Happy Monday!...

I hope everyone's weekend was good. Today was noticeably cooler and less humid, but the week will be a hot one. It must be mid-summer or something!

Chili went to the vet at the HSMO to get her leg checked out. She got really agitated as we approached the building. I think she was really worried that I was returning her! : ) I assured her that was not the case as we proceeded to another part of the building to see the vet. It turns out she just got a really bad scrape and it should heal with time and Neosporin. We stopped off to watch some friends play softball on the way home.

She will be starting obedience class at HSMO on Thursday. They have four levels of Family Dog classes and I'm starting her out at level 1. She already knows some basic commands like sit, stay and come but she selectively listens and obeys so some refresher training should do her good.

We made a trip to Petsmart yesterday to get doggie food and some sort of pooper scooper. I found a really great soloution to the poop issue: Dispoz-A-Scoop bags. You simply scoop the poop, push down on the frame of the bag, and the bag seals up. It keeps my hands away from the mess! I am finding out that a dog in a pet store is like a little kid in a toy store. They want to be in anything and everything!

We may have made a breakthrough on playing with toys. I bought a rope tug that has 2 rings of dried meat around it. Chili made quick work of one of the meat rings and when she showed interest in the second, I took it from her and went outside with it. She followed and we managed to do a game of keep away and tug-of-war for a while. She also did pretty good at fetching it, though she didn't bring it back to me. I think the trick is to associate the toy with food. I'm sure the obedience trainers will have good tips for this as well. This had been a real frustration for me and if we can get this going, it will make me really happy.

Another real problem I had over the weekend was more emotional and mental. My pre-dog life was "chafing" at the new routine this dog has brought to my life. I think I was experiencing something of a post-partum doggie depression similar to what some mothers experience after giving birth. I was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated and oddly sad at times. After our play time last night it got better. My outlook is as sunny as the sky this morning.

Chili Met The Parents...

Chili met my folks tonight. They love her! I discussed Chili's lack of interest in playing with her toys with them. I had a maple bacon-filled rawhide bone lying around and my dad got her interested in it almost right away. She ended up chewing the heck out of it!

Maybe it's ME who needs to learn how to play! : )

Chili will also be making her first trip to the vet tomorrow, at HSMO. She managed to gash the inside of her left leg on something and it looks nasty.

First Accident...

I came home tonight from volleyball and found a surprise waiting for me on the basement floor. A surprise of the solid waste variety. Oh yeah! looks like I didn't wait long enough for Chili to do her business after our walk. Well, at least she had the good sense to do it down there instead of elsewhere in the house. Live and learn!

Happy Girl!

At Rest...

Chili went on three walks today, morning, early afternoon, and evening. That, along with romps in the backyard, has tired her out. Her master is tuckered out, as well.

First Night With New Dog...

Chili and I made it through our first night together. I let her sleep on the rug next to my bed as she is not crate-trained yet. She began pawing loudly at the rug at around 1:30 a.m. so I kicked her out of the bedroom. I found her this morning sacked out in the hall in front of my bedroom door. We went for a brisk walk first thing; I've taken to using a head halter on her because she doesn't have good leash manners, i.e. she pulls! Her previous owners must not have been big on walks. She was resistant at first, as all dogs are but she's getting used to it slowly. It did slip off near the end of the walk and she took off briefly. Fortunately, she "comes" well and I got her back on leash with a little cajoling. I'll have to watch her closely, as she appears to have no "street sense."

One Of My Favorite Calvin and Hobbes Comics...

That's CHILI, As In DOG!!!...

Poochquest '07 has finally come to a successful conclusion! This morning I adopted Chili from The Humane Society of Missouri's headquarters branch in St. Louis. Chili is a 4-year-old female Labrador/Weimeraner mixed breed. Her fur is chocolatey like a Lab's but has lots of lighter brown and white running through it. It turns golden in the sun. She weighs in at 64 lbs. I can already tell she's going to be a great dog. She was surrendered last week when her previous owners didn't have enough time to care for her. I first saw her last Friday after I returned Poncho to his shelter. HSMO's headquarters is right down the street so I stopped in to see the doggies. I knew when I saw her that she was special. I had to work Saturday and would be busy Sunday but if she survived the weekend (without being adopted) I wanted her. She was still there this morning and I snapped her up right after the shelter opened.

We've already explored my backyard and the inside of my house. One thing was apparent, the collar I bought was too big so we made our first trip to Petsmart together to exchange it. She does pull on the leash so I bought a head collar to try and stop that. Other than that, I think we'll have great fun together. She wants to be around me as much as possible but that's no problem as she just lays down beside me wherever I am. She doesn't seem to be too keen on toys just yet, though. I think I can bring her around!

More pictures here:

Chili

Another new blog link

I have added a link to another blog I found about today. My friends Ben and Christi Andress moved out to Colorado from St. Louis about a year and a half ago. They are both fun people to know and I was sad to see them go. Can't help but be jealous of the gorgeous scenery they get to live with every day. : )

Bizarre Death Of The Week...

Tulsa Drillers first-base coach Mike Coolbaugh was killed last night in the line of duty - a batted ball nailed him in the head and down he went. Very bizarre...

Tulsa is the AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

Official soundtrack to Summer '07

Down to the Bone - "Supercharged"

my soundtrack to Summer '07. I picked it up at Borders last Sunday afternoon and I lovelovelove it. DTTB lays down the funk.jazz.soul.groove thang nice and thick this time around. It just don't quit! Every song is infinitely danceable. This CD should come with a complimentary dance floor but alas the listener has to groove wherever they're listening to it.

(cross-posted to MyToonz)

Poncho is going back...

I have decided to return Poncho the dog. He is simply too much for me to handle. He wants to be near me ALL THE TIME and gets frustrated when I can't be around. He is also more active and higher energy than I have time for and it's obvious our lifestyles aren't the same. He deserves a better life than I can give him and he will certainly get it from another owner. He is super affectionate and smart but he's just not the dog for me. I have not become attached to him at all so this will be easy for me, probably not for him though.

(case in point - he decided he needed to go out again last night around 11:00. While we were out in my backyard, he had a sudden burst of energy, pulled on the leash, and his collar slid off. He took off and Poncho The Formerly Stray Dog almost became Poncho The Formerly Stray Dog Who Unfortunately Became Stray Once Again. I caught him but I knew right then that he wasn't going to work out.)

Much of what is troubling me about him could be worked out in time with proper training but as I mentioned, I'm not attached to him and can't see myself investing any more time in him.

He was a valuable learning experience for me, though. I know have a keener sense of just what I am looking for in a dog. older, mellow, calm, not so active etc...

Introducing Poncho!...

I am entertaining a pooch-guest for the next few days. His name is Poncho and he is a two-year old Terrier-Boxer mixed breed. I have him as part of Stray Rescue of St. Louis' "Rent-A-Pet" program. Some of their dogs have this option that lets you try them out for a few days to see if they work with you. I saw him on their website on Saturday and he came to an adoption event on Tuesday night. I applied for him and was able to pick him up early this evening.

He has a couple of scratches on his nose from another dog reaching out and touching him recently, so he's on an antibiotic while I have him. Stray Rescue provided a leash and collar, food, and some of his blankets and toys. We went for a walk on Grant's Trail this evening and we'll try a game of fetch soon. So far, he seems to be a really sweet, affectionate dog, if not a bit "clingy." His fur is brown with black brindle stripes throughout. He was rescued off a parking lot on a hot day last month.

One thing that was obvious from the start - he loves go through life with his tongue hanging out--he drooled all over my car on the ride home, and come to think of it, he was all over my car on the ride home!

See more of his pictures here. His story is here.

Dangerous...

One of the most dangerous places in all of St. Louis for me is The Record Exchange. It's over 10,000 square feet of music heaven! The danger for me is that I could spend a LOT of money there if I didn't watch myself. They deal in used CD's of every genre and also have one of the largest vinyl record collections in the country. I could spend hours in there just browsing the stacks of weird and wacky album covers. Just tonight, I found a copy of Crowded House's second CD, "Temple of Low Men" that I have been meaning to buy for a long time.

This Is Just Disturbing!...

From today's Dear Abby:

KIDS' ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE GAME POSES THREAT TO TINY GRANDMA

DEAR ABBY: My friend "Nora" was very shaken by something that happened to her recently. While her six grandchildren were visiting, the oldest boy (age 13) shouted, "Let's take her down!" and all six of the children attacked her, knocking her to the ground, then groping and hitting her.

Nora is 73 and only 5 foot 2. Her oldest grandchild is 5 foot 7 and weighs 140 pounds. All of the grandchildren are large for their ages. The youngest, who is 7, weighs well over 70 pounds.

My question is, what can elderly people do to protect themselves? Nora felt helpless. She took the beating because she was afraid if she fought back, she'd be turned in for child abuse. I told her I'd have whacked that 13-year-old monster so hard he'd think twice about ever pulling a stunt like that again.

Now she's afraid of her grandkids because, even though their parents eventually pulled them off her, they did nothing to punish the children for their aggressive behavior. Is there anything older people can do to defend themselves against delinquents? -- SHOCKED IN TOPEKA

EDIT: DEAR ABBY'S REPLY:

DEAR SHOCKED: Are you talking about delinquent children or delinquent parents? Nora's grandchildren were obviously never taught by their parents the importance of behaving respectfully around adults, particularly elderly adults who can be fragile. They could have caused their grandmother serious harm. That the behavior went unpunished is extremely disturbing because if parents don't bother to teach their children right from wrong, their misbehavior could escalate.

..............

that makes me grateful for the raising I had. Until I was 12, my grandparents were literally a mile away. They loved me and I loved them and that contributed to my happy childhood.

Liberia or Bust!

I've added a link to a new blog - Liberia or Bust! My friend Molly K. left yesterday for a two-month mission trip with Mercy Ships. Mercy Ships is a ministry that operates charity hospital ships. Molly is a nurse by trade and will be using her mad skillz to minister in Liberia and Mongolia.

Close, But No Pooch!...

Bad news, gentle readers. No doggie for me today! I got to the HSMO shelter where my prospective dog was, a few minutes after it opened, only to find that another person was already waiting to adopt him. As it is first come, first serve, I found myself out of luck.

I'm disappointed, but it's not the end of the world. I spent the remainder of today touring various shelters and adoption events, undaunted am I.

PoochQuest '07...

looks like the dog I've been looking at at HSMO is still available! so tomorrow I'll be at the shelter as soon as they open to apply for the adoption. I am officially committed to doggie ownership, regardless; I visited my local Petsmart on Wednesday night and invested in a whole cartload of doggie supplies. I have a crate, doggie shampoo, doggie treats, a leash and collar, and some toys. I'll wait to find out what he's been fed at the shelter and continue that diet.

Wish me luck!