In bigger news, PB graduated from his obedience class today. I am so proud of him. The two most impressive results of the class were that 1) he actually was not the "worst" dog of the class in terms of shyness and making great strides. A lovely Aussie mix named Buddy was considered most improved by our instructor which is nothing short of miraculous for us. 2) After the first class, PB agreed to walk through the door into the auditorium all on his own, without my having to have someone walk behind him and "herd" him into the room. This tells me that he actually enjoyed what was going on inside and did not dread going back.
Also, I was finally able to get video of PB greeting my dad in the parking lot. My dad came to witness our graduation and PB was very happy to see him again. You can all spare me the comments on my high pitched crooning to the dog! In my defense, our instructor encourages "happy talk" with our dogs!
While PB has learned to cope with a few other men, he does not express happiness with any other man other than my father. It has taken intensive, consistent work mostly on the part of my dad rather than me, to get PB to a point where he trusts him enough to not be on guard at every moment, not to flinch or cower when my dad leans over him and to actually wag his tail and be excited about greeting him. Such small things but so momentous for us.
Who would have guessed...?
I was barely able to stand up after taking that photo - I am sure that wasn't doctor recommended and if it was, it shouldn't have been! Notice the distracted stare of my boy - which is why I promptly came right home and signed him up for the Reactive Rover class offered by our same instructor. Reactive Rover is, as the title suggests, for dogs that are reactive to other dogs. Since PB seems to have a bothersome habit of wanting to eat large dogs, we decided this class is our next logical step. That class will begin in August which is good because I think PB needs a little break and it gives me an opportunity to continue solidifying the skills we learned in this class.
The above pose would be considered at the very least, indecent exposure at work, but PB seems to favor that pose above all others. Embarrassing. I swear I don't teach these animals these things. PB and I *will* be taking a vacation of sorts when I take him with me at the end of July on a road trip/camping trip to check out Wyoming, Colorado and northern Nevada to try to narrow down where we would eventually like to move. I am leaning towards Wyoming after having become mildly besotted with this blog. But we'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, PB uses the yard for relaxation. Evidently his earlier depressions that he had dug and were sadly filled in by the gardeners lacked ambition because he has taken to full on excavations this time around. Notice the *large* hole in the foreground which is way beyond mere depression.
Not only are the holes getting deeper, but he has multiplied them so there are twice as many as before and due to the never ending monsoon we have been experiencing, otherwise known as "summer", they are more like a hippo wallowing hole of mud. Do not be fooled by the appearance of sun in that photo. It quickly disappeared into a thunderstorm.
The only creatures evidently happy with the weather are the these fluffy bundles of cuteness. In other words, goslings. I have been alternating days of hot yoga with days of long bike rides in order to build up my quads. Two days ago on one of my bike rides along the Sammamish River Trail, I saw a beautiful blue heron and brought my camera today hoping to see him again. Of course there was no sign of him but there were these:
That is one large brood my friends! Unfortunately I do not of course, have a telephoto lens on my little point and shoot camera and I didn't want to get too close and disturb the bundles of fuzz so they are kind of far away. Later, I came across two much younger ones (and a much more reasonable family size if you ask me!).
A post would not be complete without a requisite cat so here's Stabby on what was PB's car bed but which was replaced by his newest bed. Five beds is a little much I know, and I couldn't even find a place for this one at this point so I donated it to the cats who think it's the best thing ever.
I'm exhausted. Vacation please?
The above pose would be considered at the very least, indecent exposure at work, but PB seems to favor that pose above all others. Embarrassing. I swear I don't teach these animals these things. PB and I *will* be taking a vacation of sorts when I take him with me at the end of July on a road trip/camping trip to check out Wyoming, Colorado and northern Nevada to try to narrow down where we would eventually like to move. I am leaning towards Wyoming after having become mildly besotted with this blog. But we'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, PB uses the yard for relaxation. Evidently his earlier depressions that he had dug and were sadly filled in by the gardeners lacked ambition because he has taken to full on excavations this time around. Notice the *large* hole in the foreground which is way beyond mere depression.
And your point?
Not only are the holes getting deeper, but he has multiplied them so there are twice as many as before and due to the never ending monsoon we have been experiencing, otherwise known as "summer", they are more like a hippo wallowing hole of mud. Do not be fooled by the appearance of sun in that photo. It quickly disappeared into a thunderstorm.
The only creatures evidently happy with the weather are the these fluffy bundles of cuteness. In other words, goslings. I have been alternating days of hot yoga with days of long bike rides in order to build up my quads. Two days ago on one of my bike rides along the Sammamish River Trail, I saw a beautiful blue heron and brought my camera today hoping to see him again. Of course there was no sign of him but there were these:
What do you mean it rains too much?
That is one large brood my friends! Unfortunately I do not of course, have a telephoto lens on my little point and shoot camera and I didn't want to get too close and disturb the bundles of fuzz so they are kind of far away. Later, I came across two much younger ones (and a much more reasonable family size if you ask me!).
Yes, we know we're cute. Back off.
A post would not be complete without a requisite cat so here's Stabby on what was PB's car bed but which was replaced by his newest bed. Five beds is a little much I know, and I couldn't even find a place for this one at this point so I donated it to the cats who think it's the best thing ever.
What do you mean I have to share with the orange menace?
1 comment:
Congratulations PB! Good boy!
Post a Comment