The Trouble With Down/Stay
It’s an interesting question most humans never ponder. What is the purpose of a Down/Stay? Oh, they (as in humans) may tell you that it keeps you safe, prevents you from running in front of a bus or chasing after child or getting yourself into the kind of trouble you can never imagine, but I say it’s conspiracy to keep us from having too much fun.
Take today for instance. Today we were to walk Lucy and Ollie only Lucy was unavailable so we ended up just walking Ollie. We walked down through the wooded park, along the lake, up through the tunnel and then landed at the little field where Gretchen had me practice my down/stays.
I get that she thinks it’s important. I get that, in the past, I haven’t shown the best restraint or manners, but I’m over 2 years old now and you’d think…YOU’D THINK…she’d understand that I’m not going anywhere…well, anywhere for long.
But she doesn’t think that and so we practice down/stays with regularity and oh am I an obedient boy. You may think this is not really a challenge, but let’s just realize that, instead of being in a down/stay, I could be doing this…
Ollie, he doesn’t get down/stay. Well, he might at home, but when he’s with us the commands “down” and “stay” are signals for him to sit and then inch his way closer to Gretchen because he thinks she’s got treats (which inevitably she does, but you get my point.). For Ollie, everything is about the world outside himself. He reacts to life with an abandon I envy.
I can run by him and in no time flat, engage him in a glorious game of chase. Once lost in that game of chase, he loses all sense of himself and just flies around the field with a kind of spontaneity most humans pay good money to “practice” in therapy.
I must admit, his frivolity rubs off on me so when asked to perform a down/stay, it’s really hard not to just do this…
I suppose if I was a bit more solid on my “come” command, Gretchen wouldn’t be so persistent on the down/stay. Ollie, though cute, cuddly, and
precocious isn’t the best performer when given a command, he usually comes to Gretchen when she calls. I, on the other hand, am not as consistent, but that’s out of an intellectual choice to question authority and not out of some dark desire to be a bad dog.
Well, sometimes it’s fun to be a bad boy, but mostly I am not. Neither is Ollie. In fact, Ollie is downright exceptional all the time and well, that makes me look not so good on some occasions.
Still, though I had a number of down/stay lessons today, the majority of our time together was doing the thing I love most…playing with abandon.
Sure glad Ollie is there to help me keep up my playing with abandon skills!
Until next time,
Rubin
This morning we woke up same as every Monday, a bit earlier than on the weekends, and went about our normal Monday morning routines. Ann with her coffee, Gretchen with her cocoa, and me curled up on my morning bed catching the last of my dreams.
Fickle. Very fickle, but I’m learning to go with the flow.
Now, I’m not a dog who never rolls in the grass. I do it often in the backyard and occasionally out in public when I’m feeling particularly jovial and happy.
Friday Friends
I was very good with Chloe and she, I must admit, was very kind and cautious as well. She let me sniff her and even wagged her tail when Monty nudged her with his nose. Monty is a good natured fellow, but if a puppy gets too busy with him, he’ll let her know what’s what.
The only downside to sunshine is that people play tennis on the tennis courts so we had to head to the small field where Gretchen let Oshi and Perrito leash drag. Perrito has no problem with it. He flies across the field pulling that leash right along behind him.
be that Oshi isn’t nearly as rambunctious as Perrito. Despite the helmet around his head, Perrito is still very active.
Ollie knows how to wiggle!
Wednesdays and Fridays Monty comes over and we walk, we eat lunch together, we hang out, and most importantly, we play. Our playing is pretty physical and consists of lots of boxing, dancing on our back legs, and leaping off the back porch (among other things). But Gretchen says Monty is getting older and that the romping is tough on his body, that he, in fact, is suffering from a strained front leg and must take it easy.
up, dude?” I did not engage…that took a lot of patience, too. I mean, mega tons of patience!
“Take it easy? But that’s not what we do? We (you, me, and Rubin) play. I so look forward to it all week long and now you tell me it’s not going to happen? What’s with that? That’s like telling a Australian shepard not to herd or a lab not to retrieve or a cat not to sleep.”
While Monty rested, Gretchen and I went next door and fetched up Oshi and Perrito. We went for another walk, but we also stopped at the tennis courts so I could play some fetch (something I can’t do in front of Monty) and the boys ran themselves silly.
The many faces of Gerta…
This last photo was right before Gerta received a treat. Gretchen continues to teach her some commands like “leave it” and “touch” and “right here.” Gerta does quite well though for some reason when she sees certain people, she has a hard time not wanting to visit them.
I’m typing while Gretchen is sleeping. She’s feeling crummy today, something about an upset stomach. Luckily, we were only responsible for Oshi and Perrito today. I’m not sure she’d be up for more. I’ve been playing doctor all day helping nurse Gretchen back to health. I made her go out today. She needed fresh air and the boys needed their walk. So did I.
My Dogs Is Tired
It’s true. Monty likes to pounce on the ball and this pounce probably was the culprit. But what’s a dog to do? Some habits are really hard to break. So onto the leash he went and he was really disappointed when Rico joined in the play!
Rico and Roo play at this field often so maybe we’ll all be able to get together again some time soon. For now, pictures of our friends will have to suffice.
Ironically, whenever she got scared of Monty, she walked close to me, but eventually, she and Monty walked side by side.
Getting To Know You
Personally, I find the whole meet and greet routine boring. I’d rather play fetch or better yet, go swimming, but water and Ollie don’t mix so we just had to play in the park.
But she looks so innocent?
Gerta, apparently, got tired of posing in front of the shoes, so she got up and stuck her nose in Gretchen’s camera. Yes, this is Gerta’s nose!
Gretchen got the hint and they walked on down the street exploring the possibility of more shoes…
After Gerta, Gretchen came back to pick me up so that I could meet Teabiscuit. Teabiscuit, as her name implies, is very small. Not the smallest dog I’ve ever met, but still small. She’s not sure she likes big dogs, that’s for sure, so I had to be Mr. Aloof to get her to warm up to me.
Here I am ignoring her. We walked from her house down to Madrona Woods and the whole way there, Teabiscuit walked behind us — I mean at the end of her leash behind us. When we got to the woods, Gretchen let me roam free and even though I really wanted to play with Teabiscuit, I didn’t want to startle her so I pretended she wasn’t even there.
A Very Special Day!
So while it was a pretty laid back day (thanks to the rain), it was still very special for me.
Rosie and Tyson!
