Monthly Archives: April 2010

April 30, 2010

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Complications and Complexities

I am a simple dog. Some may disagree, but deep down inside, I have very few wants and needs. Fresh water, good food, a soft bed, friends, time to play, time to sleep, a good massage, and love is what makes me happy. Oh, and a few treats every now and then.

But lately, my life has become a bit more complicated. Actually, Gretchen’s life has become more complicated. For years and years and years, long before I came into the world, Gretchen was a teacher of human children. From what I can tell, she was pretty good at it, but I also know that she likes a challenge in her life. When she told me she was enrolling in massage school, I was excited for her, but I was also nervous. I wasn’t sure if our time together would change and while it has a bit, I am lucky because she practices her massage techniques on me.

Then she informed that she got another part-time job.

“WHAT!?!?!?” I screamed, “Are you crazy?”

“Relax, Rubin,” she said quietly, “It’s going to be okay.”

This was her explanation of okay:

Gretchen’s teaching job (and mine, too) will end in mid-June. At that point she’s officially retiring from teaching (which means I am too). Teaching provides a nice income and since we’re not doing it anymore, we need another source of income (sorry, just walking dogs isn’t enough even with my simple needs).

Gretchen loves working with dogs and has really learned a lot being a dog walker as well as owning a business. She didn’t want to give it up, but she wanted to find another way to work with dogs and still feel challenged.

That’s when she enrolled in small animal massage school (part of yesterday’s post), which as I’ve said, is a mixed blessing. But being in school spends money, it doesn’t earn it, so when a friend of a friend mentioned that a dog spa was looking to hire, Gretchen put her resume in.

What do you know? She got the job! Well, she’s apprenticing for a bit, but as soon as she’s done with her apprenticeship she’ll be a Swim Coach and then when she finishes her courses, she can be a massage therapist at the spa.

I guess I should feel proud of her, but part of me is skeptical. How are we going to do all of these jobs, I wonder? I guess I just need to wait and see what happens. So far, Gretchen’s worked five days at the pool and when she comes home, she is happy and content and she always gives me a short massage showing me what she learned. I’ll admit I love it, so I guess I shouldn’t be too skeptical.

But what I’m really happy about is that she’s not going to give up the dog walking. I love my job and I’m not sure how I could carry on without her. Good thing I don’t have to, eh?

Of course, today I didn’t really work because Monty and I had to go to our own spa — it was grooming time. While we were getting shampooed and trimmed and blown dry and spritzed, Gretchen carried on without me. She walked us to the groomer and then headed down to see Rosie and Tyson who, in typical fashion, were excited to see her. Tyson leaps up again and again while Rosie spins around, her tail almost touching her nose.

They walked through the park toward the museum, but then Gretchen decided, since I wasn’t home, that she’d bring the siblings by our house to let them run around in the backyard for a bit. They didn’t run much, but they sure smelled every inch and corner of the yard leaving me little calling cards in special places. By the time I got home from the groomer, I rolled around on those calling cards I was so excited by their scents.

After Rosie and Tyson went home, Gretchen took out Oshi and Perrito who begged and pleaded to go see Gemma. So off they went, the boys dressed in their coats, to pick up a very excited Gemma. They walked back through the park and stopped on a bench for the obligatory photo shoot. It’s nice when all our clients get along.

Oshi and Perrito went home and then Gemma begged and pleaded to go see Saber, so off they went to Saber’s house and then to the park to play.

Gretchen thought they were worn out, but when a new dog showed up — Kora — it was game on!

Once they decided to leave, they ran into about four more dogs each of whom wanted to play with Gemma and Saber, but truly, they needed to rest even though they rolled around a bit with Kona the 6-month old Goldendoodle! Gretchen was so busy holding leashes, she couldn’t take any photos, but let’s just say, as soon as Gemma and Saber got home, they fell fast asleep, tired and content.

The only thing left to do was wait for a phone call from the groomer, which luckily came fairly early. So back up the hill Gretchen went to fetch us from the spa and as a reward, we got to play fetch at the park.

And oh what fun we had when we saw that Eddie and Ripley were there, and Sydney too.

Then along came Harry followed by Gypsy and Dixie. It was Doggie Disneyland, which is exactly the kind of reward we needed.

So I guess I shouldn’t complain. Yes, Gretchen’s busier than usual, but she still makes time for lots of fun and games and she always tries to include me. Our lives might be getting more complicated for awhile, but soon enough the complexities of the moment will fade away and we’ll be back to just dog walking and therapy work — something I’ll admit I’m looking forward to.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Rubin

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April 29, 2010

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Double-edged Sword

I’ve learned, in my short but busy life, that dark clouds often have silver linings. When a package arrived recently and Gretchen pulled out a thick notebook, I saw a dark cloud.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“My homework,” she replied.

HOMEWORK? Wait just one minute. Aren’t we busy enough? I kept my thoughts to myself.

“Gee,” I said instead, “Homework for what?”

“Well,” Gretchen explained, “I’ve enrolled in a massage school and now I need to do the homework.”

“Massage school?” I said a bit shocked, “But I thought we were dog walkers. How am I ever going to learn to be a massage therapist?”

She laughed at me slightly (or as she said, she laughed next to me!), “Oh buddy, you aren’t going to be a massage therapist, I am. And don’t worry, I’m going to massage dogs not humans so it fits right in with our dog walking business.”

Dark cloud = I won’t be able to accompany Gretchen when she massages dogs.

Silver lining = She gets to practice on me!

Or to use another metaphor, this was turning out to be a double-edged sword. The positive side is that I will get more massages than I already do, which will be great after a long day of dog walking. The negative side is that Gretchen is going to be busy for the next few months because she’ll be finishing up her teaching job, walking dogs, and studying her massage lessons. That means less time for me, though she claims that it won’t really change much.

I’m not sure I believe her.

She tells me she’s learning a lot and today she even showed me a few things. She should me how to take my pulse from my back leg, how to stretch my overworked shoulders, and how massage my tired feet. While we were walking other dogs today, she treated them to a few new experiences as well.

First was Woobie who we picked up after our morning in the classroom. As we walked through the park back to our house (where Woobie spent some time today), Gretchen stopped every now and then to do some fascial manipulation. From what I can tell, she just picked up Woobie’s skin and stretched it. “Oh does it feel,” I asked Woobie.

“Devine!” she moaned happily.

Next up was Rosie. Rosie’s body has been through a lot, so every time they stopped for a crosswalk or even at the park, Gretchen massaged Rosie’s back legs and her back hips. Rosie liked it, but Gretchen said she’s not completely comfortable with massage. She’d much rather just keep walking and smelling!

Oh, and jumping up on boulders without any direction from Gretchen. Guess she knows how to earn treats!

Woobie and I got to pile in the car after that and head to Zoe’s house. Zoe was beside herself in excitement that I brought a friend along with me. Since Gretchen’s hands were full, she didn’t get a chance to show us any massage techniques, but we were all so happy just to be together, we didn’t mind! Oh, and Zoe and Woobie both like to put their noses in the air!

I like to roll around…

We did a lot of posing today. Gretchen said it was because the light was perfect.

Woobie and I headed back to the house after that and Gretchen and I headed over to Saber and Gemma’s house. Now those two play so hard that it’s almost impossible to catch either one of them long enough for any massages, though Gretchen did give it a try.

Saber kind of liked it, but he would have rather wrestled with Gemma.

Gemma found it curious, but she just wanted to bite at Saber or chase me around.

That meant that Gretchen had to practice on me when we got home and I’ve gotta admit, I like the silver lining of this sword. Wait, did I just mix my metaphors? Guess I’m just too relaxed to notice!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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April 28, 2010

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Don’t Be Fooled

This morning, when the alarm went off, I did what I always do — jumped on the human bed. This is my little treat granted to me each morning for about 20 minutes while Gretchen goes downstairs and makes coffee. From my comfy perch, I can see the sky, which is always a fascinating variety of weather systems.

Especially now.

It’s almost as if the sky and the weather are on a giant scroll and the all powerful Dog in the sky is cranking the scroll at a faster rate. Blue sky moves on by to make room for flat, purplish clouds. Purplish clouds pass by for big puffy white ones. The big puffy white ones gallop across the sky to be replaced by dark, gloomy clouds and then occasionally, flat grayness takes forever to move on through (though it does move) and douses us with sprinkles, mists, heavy rains, and yesterday, fat hail.

So this morning, with my hair still curly from yesterday’s walk in the unexpected downpour, I scanned the skies for any sign of what the all powerful Dog had in store for us on today’s scroll. I saw sun, I saw blue sky, I saw the pink hint of the sun rising in the east, and on the horizon, I saw flat, gray clouds.

“Will they make an appearance today?” I wondered.

Well, I got my answer!

The day started with some classroom work where I helped the students finish up their stories, which are due next week. They are in a panic, but with my help they made great progress today.

Then we ventured to Monty’s house and finally swung by Oshi and Perrito’s just as the clouds were gathering on the horizon. Still, no rain. In fact, it was pretty darn pleasant, though it was good the little guys had on their sweaters!

Next up was Rosie and she was happy to see the sun by the time she went out with Gretchen. It made for dramatic and sunny photos along the way.

Still, Gretchen watched the horizon judging if and when the “storm” that was forecast this morning would actually occur.

I mean, look at the sun on those flowers and then the clouds gathering on the horizon. Difficult to know what it’s going to do!

Next was Gemma who is, dare I say, a storm in and of herself, but today she and Saber got to play and as you can see the sky was a split personality though they didn’t seem to mind!

Once the kids got their ya-yas out they went for a walk and Gretchen monitored the weather the whole way. When they got over the ridge, the wonderful flowers stood out boldly against the oncoming gray, but all Saber wanted to do was get his nose collar off.

And all Gemma wanted to do was get rewarded for sitting and staying and looking like an angel.

By the time they made it up and over the hill, the clouds to the west had amassed into one huge bank of blackness. Yes, some kind of storm was a-comin’ but it was hard to tell if what hung in the west would skim by us and head north, or take a dramatic turn and bring rain and perhaps thunderstorms our way.

Oh please! Not the thunderstorms!

Finally, Gretchen came by and picked up Monty and me after our post-brunch rest. We walked some, but then headed to the little field to play fetch because quite frankly, time was running out. The sky was building up with more threats than I’ve ever seen. And talk about split personalities…these next two shots were taken within seconds of each other and only with a few degrees of separation!

Quick, throw the ball! We haven’t got much time!

Yep, there is still sun in those photos, but don’t be fooled. I’m telling you, the clouds were moving in as the wind picked up and the temperatures started to drop.

Of course, we didn’t want to stop playing, but Gretchen finally leashed us up and we headed back towards Monty’s house.

We dropped Monty off and then headed home just as the sky started pelting us with large drops of rain. By the time we got home, this is what it looked like on the back porch. Whew!

The sky always tries to fool me. I know I’m still young, but since I spend a good portion of every day outside, I think I’ve become pretty skilled at reading the sky. Then again, every day (especially in the spring) is full of surprises. I guess I just need to appreciate the surprises.

Until tomorrow (whatever weather there may be!)

Rubin

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April 27, 2010

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Unleashed

I am the proud owner of many leashes. You might find this curious that I’m proud about my leashes, but they actually tell the story of my life (so far). My first leash was small, short, and thin. I wore it most of the time as I was taught to “leash drag” throughout the house. Apparently, this was the way my moms “reined” me in when I was getting into something I shouldn’t or refusing to come to them when they called. My next leash was red and was actually a hand-me-down leash from my family’s previous dog, Chester. The red leash is also a hand-me-down from my Grandpa’s former dog, Sasha.

Once I started my formal training, I got a leather leash. I felt proud to have a leather leash because it meant that I was a big dog since my best friend Monty has a leather leash. Of course, I ruined my leather leash eventually and then got two more. Yes two! Now don’t think I’m greedy it’s just that around the time that I got my second leather leash, we started our dog walking business so Gretchen wanted an extra leather leash for walking other dogs. It’s definitely come in handy.

I also have a recycled climbing rope leash for show, I guess; a flexi-leash (another hand-me-down from Chester); and two long lines — one that floats and one that doesn’t. Oh, and I have a leash tab, a short, cut-off leash that I wear when I’m training because it doesn’t drag on the ground, but it’s long enough that if Gretchen needs to grab me she can.

But each leash has a function. I won’t bore you with all the details, but the most important leashes are my leather leash and my flexi-leash. When I’m wearing the leather leash I know I am working. Gretchen uses it when she takes me to school and when we go on our dog walks. She can wear it over her shoulder and not really have to hold onto it and I know that when she uses the leather leash, my job is to stay right next to her on whatever side she requests.

The flexi-leash is a recent addition in my life. Gretchen doesn’t like them much because they don’t give her much control, but when it’s the weekend or when we go out for fun and NOT for work, then I get to use the flexi-leash, which means I’m not working. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like to work, but I also like to have my play time and it’s great fun to go on a long weekend walk and be able to wander ahead of everyone smelling the ground and the bushes without having to be attentive to sticking right by Gretchen’s side.

Recently, Gretchen has been using the blue flexi-leash while we’re working. “Why?” I asked her.

“Well, you’re an adult dog now and sometimes I need you to help me socialize and entertain the dogs we walk,” was her explanation. “You don’t always have to be at my side when we’re working.”

Wow! I really like getting older. So many more privileges come my way.

Rosie, I’ve noticed from the pictures, has a flat, red leash. She also wears a harness, which Gretchen sometimes says she’s going to make me wear, but I really hate wearing things on my body. We’re still in negotiations about this. Even though Rosie wears a leash, Gretchen lets her leash drag when they go to play at the open fields. Rosie really likes that. She also really likes playing fetch with treats. She gets very excited when she sees the treats in Gretchen’s hand and does a lovely play bow and retrieval when they play fetch.

But see the leash? Yep, it’s always there because sometimes Rosie likes to go off sniffing and the dragging leash allows Gretchen to step on it if Rosie gets any fancy ideas!

And see those gray clouds on the horizon? Well, they are getting ready to “unleash” themselves, but that won’t happy quite yet!

Zoe uses a flexi-leash and when we walk with her, I get to wear mine as well. That way Rosie and I can walk ahead, side-by-side and lead the way to the lake and park, our two favorite spots to play.

Remember those gray clouds? Well, they stayed at bay on our walk with Zoe, but they were building like you wouldn’t believe.

In the meantime, Zoe and I just watched the horizon and hoped against all clouds that they wouldn’t unleash on us too soon.

It was sunny and rain-free for the first two walks, but the skies eventually opened wide and furiously by the time we picked up Gemma and Saber.Now Gemma uses a harness and recycled climbing rope leash like mine (though I rarely use it) and Saber uses a red flat leash that we ended up buying for him because we lost his gray leash in the lake.

Oops.

While we play at the tennis courts, our leashes sit on the bench though Saber wears his because sometimes he likes to play keep away!

Speaking of lakes, the rain came down so powerfully, we didn’t get a ton of photos of our play time at the tennis courts (or pool) and when we did use the camera, it got a bit wet and started to fog up…

…hence, when Gretchen went off to walk Playa, Ollie, and Doodles, all photos had a foggy spot unfortunately.

Playa has a “girlie” leash — yellow with blue polka-dots — Ollie has a plain leash — brownish-orange — and Doodles has a fancy leash — sort of a Southwestern pattern. And yes, Doodles got to use his leash today! Normally, Doodles hides under the table or races upstairs to avoid going on a walk, but today, he actually let Gretchen leash him up and he almost happily went on the walk!

Of course, that foggy spot kind of ruined the photos, but still it stopped raining and everyone had a fun time!

I don’t really have a favorite leash, I’m just happy when one is pulled out and I get to go for a walk or on a play date. Oh, and I really like it when I’m allowed off-leash to play fetch, go swimming, or just hang out with my pals on the weekend!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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April 26, 2010

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CATS!!!!! (not the musical!)

Oh how I’ve wanted to write about my least favorite subject for the longest time. I know, that seems like an oxymoron — wanting to write about something you hate — but I can feel my paws itching as they float over the keyboard just knowing I can write about those infuriating felines.

My day started with the feral beasts and ended with them, too and throughout the whole day, those pesky furballs kept popping up…and I mean POPPING up (one of the reasons I despise them so!).

We walked Ann to school this morning and on the way, walked past Boy’s house. Boy is a large, gray tabby who likes to sit on his stoop and wait for dogs (like me) to walk by. Now when Monty walks by, Boy and Monty rub against each other in this cross-species love fest. If Monty weren’t such a good friend, I’d have to cut off all relations, but since he is my best buddy, I just watch him love up Boy and get sick to my stomach.

But this morning, there was Boy sitting there just waiting for me and as we got closer, he sauntered down the stairs to rub against me…as IF I were Monty. Gretchen sees this as learning experiences and she works tirelessly to keep me focused on her and not on the cat. Today I did pretty well. I didn’t go into KILL mode though I did go into ALERT mode, which Gretchen says is okay as long as I don’t go all Cujo on her.

I didn’t. I behaved. It took every fiber of my being to behave, but I behaved.

So school, teaching, then home again and off Gretchen went to pick up Rosie and Tyson, putting all that cat training behind her…EXCEPT…

…they walked down to the park, they get onto the path, and who should run out of the bushes STRAIGHT AT THEM?

Now, I know I have a prey drive (I also have a play drive), but Rosie and Tyson have serious prey drives. Not only did one cat come running out of the bushes right at the dogs, but another cat was in hot pursuit right behind it. AND while the one in pursuit had the smarts to spot the dogs and hightail it back into the bushes, the lead cat did not. On top of which, the lead cat was that hairless cat that lives right next to the park. It took Rosie and Tyson a few seconds to put all the pieces together…

…is it a cat? Is it a dog? Is it an alien?

…is it really running right at us?

…is it like not going to stop and come right up to us?

…oh my DOG we need to kill it!

And then they went crazy. Tyson jumped up and down and barked like crazy, which set Rosie off into her spinning, barking, biting anything close by mode and here was Gretchen holding the leashes so the dogs didn’t kill the cat (oh please let them!) and separating the dogs so they didn’t go after each other.

And what did the cat do?

MOVED CLOSER! Yes!!! The cat saw all the craziness of the prey driven dogs and sauntered up to them like, “Hey big dogs, you want a piece of me?”

Luckily, a friend of ours came by and helped out by shooing the cat back to its house as quickly as possible, though the cat really wasn’t interested in that idea at all. The rest of the walk took time because Rosie and Tyson kept looking back over their shoulders to see if the cat was following them.

And it didn’t end there…as they were rounding the corner for home (a different corner since Gretchen didn’t want to run into the cat again), two little Chihuahuas were on a walk with their owner and scampered by up the street. Rosie and Tyson went on high alert again thinking the cat had multiplied and returned, but once they got a good whiff, they let down their guard and everyone could continue on their way.

Next was Zoe. I got to go on this walk (though darn it! I wish I’d been on the walk with Rosie and Tyson…we would’ve had a fantastic time with the hairless cat!) and even though we rarely see a cat, who should be perched on a neighbor’s porch, but a black and white monstrosity about the size of a raccoon. Zoe didn’t notice. I noticed, but so did Gretchen and therefore we had to be on our best behavior.

When she posed us on the steps for our photo, I was thinking about the cat when I spotted a small soccer ball, which grabbed all of my attention. Even Zoe was wondering what I was so focused on, though she wasn’t the least bit interested in playing with the ball.

I, on the other hand, carried it for about 4 blocks before dropping in the parking strip of some unknown house.

Next we drove to get Gemma and Saber. We played at the tennis courts, which helped me out a bit — substituting my prey drive for play drive…

…but then, when we went on our walk, another cat crossed our path. Now Saber, he gets alert with cats and squirrels, but Gemma is worse than me about the whole Cujo thing. But she didn’t see the cat (lucky for Gretchen) and while Saber perked up his ears, I was the one who had to be reminded that chasing cats is not what I’m supposed to do.

Darn it!

So now, after three cats in three outings I was totally looking for them when we went to Alice’s house to pick her up. Alice, I would like to remind you, lives with a cat (imagine!) so I didn’t think she’d be at all interested in helping me spot them (which she wasn’t) but as we went on our way through the park and neighborhoods, I kept my eyes open and nostrils flared in search of another cat.

Instead, I found that soccer ball I dropped earlier in the day on our walk with Zoe and decided to carry it for another few blocks and drop it off at Alice’s house as a house-warming gift (since they just moved in). Alice went into her house and spent the rest of the day there with her cat, while we headed back home for our last walk of the day with Oshi and Perrito.

In our neighborhood there are lots and lots of cats. So many that often I have to look both ways when leaving the yard. One of those cats is Orondo who lives across the street but never spends time at his own home. Instead, he loves Oshi and Perrito (and they love him too) so whenever her hears the dogs leaving their house, Orondo usually runs over.

Which is exactly what he did today…right into my path!

Oh my did I ever kick my prey drive into high gear. I mean, all day long I’d been super good not attacking any of the cats we spotted and always being attentive to Gretchen’s commands. But when Orondo ran at me, I let it all out. Man, did that ever feel good! Of course, it didn’t scare Orondo in the least. He just cowered down a bit and waited for his little pals (dressed in stylish outfits) to come visit.

By the time we finished our walk, I was both exhausted from all the cat hunting and thrilled that at any given moment, I might see another feline in my path. Luckily for Orondo, he’d gone home while we dropped off the boys and then I curled up on my bed for a nice long nap whereupon I dreamt about flying fur and musical meows.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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April 23, 2010

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Short But Sweet!

Usually by Friday we’re a little tired. We’ve walked, we’ve played, and we’ve done our best to wear out our clients. In the process, we can wear out ourselves. So today, when we had a cancellation and the only dogs on the books were Monty, Gemma, and Saber, we both kind of breathed a sigh of relief. “A light day,” Gretchen said, to which I responded, “Sweet!”

I got to go to school today and it was great fun to help the students with their mini-art projects. Usually I don’t roam around the room much, but today, as the students were working, Gretchen let me sniff around and I ended up visiting every student receiving a pat on the head or a rub on my back. It was nice. Of course, we had to leave to start our walks, but it was a great way to start the day.

Then it was off to Monty’s house and because Gretchen left something back at school, we headed back there and then down to Frink Park where we got to rumble! Yahooo! What a fantastic Friday this was turning out to be!

After the romp, we walked down by the lake and then up to Olive’s house (a canine friend) to see if she could play, but she wasn’t home. Boo hoo. So over the hill we headed and back down to the house where Monty got lunch and I got a snack. We rested while Gretchen headed over to pick up Saber and then Gemma.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, those two are a hoot! They are as good of friends as Monty and I are and part of me wishes we’d been there to watch them play. Alas, we had to digest. Meanwhile, though, those two ran and rumbled, spun and tumbled until their tongues hung out and they were ready for their walk.

They went both went home tired and happy and then, because there was no more work today, Monty and I got to play again! First, though, we had to run a few errands, which meant traveling in the car. I love going for a ride, but Monty not so much. He did well, though, and when we pulled into Volunteer Park, he was thrilled! I was thrilled when I realized we were going to go on a walk to our favorite hidden park where we played fetch!!! Oooolala how fun is that for a Friday afternoon!

This park is great for wearing us out. It has a gentle hill and Gretchen throws the ball with her chuck-it and we race down the hill to fetch our respective balls. Then we race back up the hill and flop down in the cool grass until it’s time to do it all over again…and again and again and again until we can’t do it anymore! Then we roll around in the grass on our backs and get as giddy and happy as only two best friends can be!

And the best part? Stealing Monty’s ball, which Gretchen caught on camera.

Monty doesn’t care. He’s happy with any ball!

We walked around the park as the clouds moved in and then headed to Monty’s house where we dropped him off while Gretchen and I headed up north for Gretchen’s massage. She gets a massage every now and then to help her tired body and when we get home, she gives me a massage for my tired body. It’s a perfect way to end a short but sweet Friday.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Rubin

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April 22, 2010

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I’m Workin’ Here!

Often, when we’re out on a walk with one dog or another, people will stop us and say, “Wow, wish I could have the day off and walk my dog!” I have to inform them that we don’t have the day off, walking dogs in the middle of the day is our job, and frankly, we’re working here! It’s not a piece of cake.

Many still don’t believe us, well, except when it’s raining, but then we rarely ever see anyone. Mostly, on days like today when the sun is fighting the clouds for control of the sky, some people sneak away at lunch for a walk in the park and that’s when they see us. We’re, of course, here every day, but that doesn’t stop them from saying, “Look at the cute dogs,” and then oohing and awing over us and starting up a conversation.

In the course of that conversation, I have to inform them that as fun as this might appear, it actually requires planning and commitment to be a dog dog walker.

And strength. Not just physical strength, but emotional strength, too.

The emotional strength occurs in many ways. For instance, while Gretchen is walking Rosie (as she did today) I must wait at home. I do pretty well resting, but today was difficult because I didn’t get to go to school since Gretchen was in meetings all morning. Bummer. Then she went right from school to Rosie’s house and walked her all by herself.

Yes, that means I must wait and wait and wait and that takes a great deal of emotional strength on my part. Man, I want to get a-workin!

They headed up to Bradner Gardens to check on the new sprouts. As you can see, the spinach is coming up and lots and lots of plots are plowed and planted.

Rosie checked it all out.

And when asked how she likes spinach…this was Rosie’s response!

Meanwhile, I was at home still waiting. I was trying to be patient, but I was also kind of itching to get out on the road. Luckily, Gretchen came home, leashed me up, put me in the car, and off we went to walk Zoe. Now this is where the emotional and physical strength come into play. Zoe likes me. I mean, she really, really likes me. I liked to be liked, but I have my limits. So when Zoe comes bounding out of the house, I have to stand in my “not so close” pose and give a little growl so she doesn’t knock me down in her enthusiasm.

Gretchen does a good job of getting us going as soon as possible, and once Zoe and I are underway, she calms down a bit. But only a bit. To keep up with her, I must call upon my physical prowess. We went down by the lake today and both of us wondered when oh when will we be allowed to go swimming!

The answer? Not until it warms up a bit more so that we can dry off on the way home. Dry off? Who needs to dry off? Well, I dry quickly but I guess Zoe would take a lot more to dry off with all that amazing hair…amazing beautiful hair, I might add!

So, no swimming today, just longing looks at the (cold) lake and pleading looks back at Gretchen who holds her ground and keeps us on land and dry, dry, dry!

Not today, but we did walk side by side down the trail…

When we got to Zoe’s house, she’s all about romping around in the backyard, but Gretchen went let us get our romp on until Zoe’s knee is fully recovered. So into the house she goes and back into the car I go on our way to my biggest physical and emotional challenge of the day — Saber and Gemma!

With purpose and speed, we venture off to find a place to run and get all of our excess energy out. Well, to get Saber and Gemma’s energy out. So over to our secret basketball court where we played with abandon. Yes, I must do my part to exercise the children and like a good camp counselor, the kids LOVE me!

We dropped Saber off at his house first — panting and tired — and then Gemma who was equally spent. I thought for sure Gretchen and I would play some more, but we went home so she could have lunch and I could have a snack and then, if you can believe it, she left me again.

WHAT? She came home just a bit ago and she smelled all guilty. By that I mean, she smelled of other dogs.

WHAT? She has some explaining to do!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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April 21, 2010

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From Yum to Yuck and Back Again

Gretchen has a lot of saying she uses in class. “I’m here to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” is one she spouts from time to time, but my favorite is, “Don’t yuck my yum!” To be fair, these are not sayings of her own making. Rather she “borrowed” them from others. The first comes from one of her favorite plays (and a movie) “Inherit the Wind” and the other comes from a teacher she once worked with who often talked about students yucky up someone else’s yum.

I thought about this phrase a lot today, especially when we headed out this morning for school. It rained like the dickens last night and on the way to school we both got a little wet. “Yuck,” I moaned and then thought, “I wonder if anyone finds the rain a yum?”

I guess I do from time to time. Like in the summer when we’ve had days and days (perhaps even weeks) of hot weather and all I can think about is going swimming in the lake. But it’s not the summer and the weather we’re having of late is really hard to figure out. I mean, it rained this morning on our walk to school and then again on the way to Monty’s house. Monty didn’t care about the wet, but I was getting kind of tired of it. It made our morning walk a little yucky.

We stayed at home while Gretchen walked in the rain and I spent the entire time sitting at the back window watching the gray clouds mist their misty mist upon the ground. Gretchen walked Gemma, who could care less about the rain and doesn’t give a hoot that she has to wear a raincoat, and then the two of them picked up the boys next door, Oshi and Perrito.

Now those two kind of care about the rain. Well, at first they did. Perrito was kind of upset that he had to get wet, but he quickly got over it after chasing Gemma at the tennis courts.

Oshi, on the other hand, was upset about the rain from start to finish and then when Perrito ran into him knocking him down onto the wet court, he was really miffed. He just kept following Gretchen around saying, “I think it’s time to go home now. Really. Seriously. Do. You. Hear. Me?”

Meanwhile, Gemma is racing around oblivious to the wet weather and can’t imagine why anyone might find it yucky. I guess to her it’s not exactly yummy, but it’s not yucky either.

Next up was Saber, who like his girlfriend Gemma, is oblivious to the weather. Gemma’s Dad calls Saber a walrus and I suppose, like a walrus, he has that kind of coat that protects him from the elements. So despite the rain, he was happy to go on a long walk in a completely different direction up to Woobie’s house.

Along the way, Gretchen tried to take photos of Saber but with his nose collar on, he’s not very cooperative. This was the only good one she could get because in all the others he kept lying down, rolling around, and doing whatever he could to take off the collar.

I don’t blame him. I’m not sure I could handle wearing that thing on my nose either, but once he gets lumbering along on the walk, he forgets about it and is his happy-go-lucky self again.

So up through the neighborhoods they walked feeling the mist on their respective rain gear with the Walrus, I mean Saber, not feeling any yuck whatsoever!

He was even more happy (yummy?) when he got to walk with Woobie who has an equally protective raincoat. But Woobie doesn’t much like the rain and Saber, well, he doesn’t much like his nose collar, but we all have to endure some irritations, don’t we.

After Saber was dropped off at home, Woobie came by our house so we could all go on a walk together. But first, some fetch, which I will play in any kind of weather. Yum, yum, yum! Monty agrees.

Woobie? Well, she’s not that fond of fetch, at least not today, but she was thankful that by the time we made it to the little field, the rain had stopped and she could watch us from the sidelines (or sit with us as she did with Monty) and not get soaked.

It even got nice enough that Monty and I could do what we love to do almost as much as we love playing fetch.

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYY to see my TUMMMMMMMYYYYYY!

Monty and I walked Woobie home the long way and all of us were happy that the gray misty clouds had finally passed. Blue sky even popped out on occasion and that, my friends, is a definite yum.

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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April 20, 2010

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To Chase or Be Chased

When I was a wee lad, my moms took me to an off-leash dog park. I thought I’d landed in Disneyland and instantaneously started racing around the park trying to get another dog to chase me. Oh, it was great fun as one dog took on the challenge (I’m super fast) and then another and then another. Not only am I mighty speedy, but I know how to use trees and bushes, to make quick turns and change course to fool my predators.

And then, while I raced and darted as fast as I could with a big, fat smile on my face, I looked behind me to see who was following. What started out as one dog had turned into about 15 and at that moment, I could hear my moms yelling my name and feel the gnashing of teeth in the breeze behind me. I panicked, tucked my tail as far as it would go, plastered my ears to my head, and rolled over on my back with a high-pitched yelp whereupon I bared my teeth in hopes the predators would get the message.

It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt, Gretchen always says, and there have been a number of times I’ve gotten hurt. I suppose it’s my own fault. I was young and naive and well, carried away in the moment of the chase, but I’ve wised up as I’ve aged. Yes, I still like a game of chase, but what I’ve learned is that who chases me must be an elite circle of my friends. Strangers chasing me never works out. Trust me, I’ve learned the hard way.

But chasing is in our blood and we tend to fall into two camps — the chasers and the chasees. I am a chasee, though recently, I’ve come to see the fun of being a chaser. Each of the dogs we walk has their own preference as well and though only a few of them get to practice the chasing and the chased on our outings, they quickly show their true colors when they do.

Take for instance Rosie. Because of Rosie’s fears, she’s rarely let off leash when Gretchen takes her on an outing. When she walks with her brother Tyson, they sometimes go to the tennis courts whereupon Rosie shows that she likes to be the one to chase. Tyson prefers to chase after a ball, but Rosie would just rather chase after Tyson.

But when they walk alone — just Rosie and Gretchen — Rosie isn’t the least bit interested in chasing a ball nor does she like it if Gretchen chases her. They’ll run along side each other in the park, but what Rosie really likes is to chase after treats. This is game Gretchen started months ago as a way to build trust with Rosie. Gretchen tosses the treat, Rosie chases after it and gobbles it up, and then Gretchen calls her back rewarding her with a treat upon her return.

Today they even tried to learn a new trust game. Gretchen held a treat between the bridge of her open legs and encouraged Rosie to walk underneath, curling around to the right to earn the reward. It took many, many attempts, but eventually Rosie did it, which is an amazing step forward for the timid girl.

I mean, when you’re scared of your own shadow, to walk through someone’s legs with them standing over you takes lots and lots of courage. Rosie showed it in spades today and Gretchen was very proud of her. I am, too!

Maybe one day Rosie will even feel confident enough to chase after a ball. Who knows!

Zoe, on the other hand, is all about chasing. Unfortunately, her knee surgery prevents us from really testing out the game. She’s showed some interest, but every time she tries to engage me in a game of frolic, Gretchen puts the kibosh on it. Darn it because I think Zoe and I could really have a rousing came of chase if given half the chance.

Instead, we must pose for photos whereupon Gretchen gets fixated on Zoe’s large and beautiful paws and the way Zoe flops herself down when Gretchen says the word “down.”

I laugh when Gretchen tries to get Zoe to sit or lie down without having a treat in her hand. Zoe ignores Gretchen with amazing panache and though I obey, I giggle watching Zoe gazing off into the distance just waiting for Gretchen to reach in her pocket for a reward. Once the reward is out, though, Zoe is speedy obedient — sitting before the “s” is fully sounded and lying down just with the motion of Gretchen’s hand.

Of course, if Gretchen doesn’t give her the treat right away, Zoe tries all sorts of other tricks to earn the reward…like this one, which Gretchen accidentally captured kind of, sort of!

Now, Saber and Gemma are all about the chase only it’s hard for us to figure out at first who should chase whom.

Eventually, we just take turns!

And yes, we’re playing at a different park today — a small basketball court over by the museum that was apparently sponsored by the now defunct Seattle Supersonics. Gretchen informs me that they moved to Oklahoma City. Alas, there are still remnants of the Sonics in the Central District.

We played our hearts out at the courts, as you can see, and then ended our game of chase for a nice walk through Judkin’s Park. I got dropped off at home while Gretchen walked Gemma and Saber back to their houses.

Next, Gretchen picked up Ollie and Playa for the final walk of the day. Now I know Ollie likes to be chased just as much as I do, but today there wasn’t a chance for any action because the tennis courts by their house were occupied by tennis players. Instead, the two went on a walk whereupon Gretchen surmised that Playa would most likely chase Ollie if given half the chase.

But Playa is part Husky and if there is anything a Husky wants to do more than chase it’s venture out into the world on her own. No chasing unless it’s after an adventure or perhaps a good smell, but most importantly, at her own pace without any part of her tethered to someone or something else.

Today, Gretchen brought a longer leash so Playa could feel as if she were venturing on her own, but given the fact that she’s a Husky and will end up in the next county given half the chance, Playa had to stay on a leash.

They walked back to the Ferdinand Pea Patch this week because Gretchen really wanted to check it out and there, on the bluff just past the pea patch, she tried desperately to get a photo of the two friends with the view of the Sound behind them. Unfortunately, Playa isn’t the best at sitting for very long (that venturing thing) and Ollie, well, he knows there are treats in Gretchen’s hand and he’ll do anything to get them. In fact, she had him leash to her fanny pack and though he sat for a nano-second, he pulled that fanny pack over to Gretchen just to earn the reward.

Finally, on their way back to the car, they stopped at the little field behind the school. Gretchen tried again to get some photos of the two together, but Ollie was only interested in a treat, while Playa practiced sitting as close to Gretchen as she possibly could. She’s now learned that those treats taste pretty darn good!

The rain was supposed to follow us today, but luckily it didn’t chase us down. It looks threatening right now, but I’m kind of hoping the wind chases it away so tomorrow will be beautiful again. See, everything has a need to be chased or do the chasing. Which side do you fall on?

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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April 19, 2010

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Dreamings

At school the students are working on writing aboriginal myths or what are called Dreamings. I have learned a great deal over the last week or so about both aborigines and their mythology. Briefly, aborigines feel that the world around is imbued with spirits each of whom has a story to tell us. To hear the story, we must enter Dreamtime, a place where we can get in touch with our spirit selves.

As the students work on their stories, I have helped as best I could giving them ideas for possible plot twists and interesting characters they might want to include. Today, as we were walking, I thought perhaps I should write my own Dreaming, but since today was so busy, I haven’t had a moment to enter Dreamtime. Therefore, I just thought all about my story and how I might include my clients/friends in my story.

Here’s what I have so far…

First, Gretchen walked Rosie and Tyson after she dropped me off at home. I worked a bit on my Dreaming trying to decide what role Rosie and Tyson might play. They would most likely be siblings (as they are in real life) who protect something valuable in the world. I haven’t exactly what they should protect, but every time I see these two siblings, I sense their very strong guardian skills.

Okay, even though Rosie yawns occasionally, they are both on the lookout constantly for any dangers that might arise out of the bushes, from under a rock, or from behind a parked car. They are sentries in stature and attitude and I think they’d make perfect protectors of the something valuable (to be determined!).

It was warm today, unusually warm and while the rain clouds are threatening now, all of us got mighty hot today. So Rosie and Tyson were happy to go back inside their cool house while Gretchen lathered up in sunscreen and headed over to get me. We hopped in the car and headed over to Zoe, my new best friend. Now if Zoe were a character in my myth she’d have to be a friendly giant. You might not think she’s that big when you meet her, but to me she’s ginormous!

Anyway, she’d be the friendly giant who helped me on my quest or walkabout as they call it in Australia. I’d be afraid of her at first — given her size and all — but she’d lead me to the oracle where I’d give the information I’d need to continue my journey. See, we even got a photo of the friendly giant and me by the oracle in the park!

After Zoe, we piled back into the car and headed over to get Gemma and Saber. Now it’s kind of tricky to know what characters these two would be in a myth because frankly, they’re quite the characters in real life as you can see from our play time at the park.

And then, since we got really tired rather quickly and needed to rest in the shade…

…we had to get some water…well, they got water and I waited until they were done sharing the bowl…

I think Gemma would most likely the trickster, the one who solves my dilemma (whatever that might be) by repeated attempts and then finally figuring all out by making some big mistake. I mean, Gemma’s always got her nose in someone else’s business so it would just make sense that she’d get involved in my quest in some comical way.

And Saber? Well, he’d be the kind of silly character who always brings levity to situation unintentionally. Kind of like a mix between Eeoyre and Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.

We went for a walk after our brief but exhausting romp and by the time Saber and Gemma got home, they both had their tongues hanging out. I did too, but I still had work to do.

First was Alice who no doubt would be the nervous, but very important Princess that needed to be rescued from the clutches of something evil. Again, I haven’t figured out what that evil will be, but it’s definitely Alice who’d need rescuing!

While I was scheming about  my story on my walk with Alice, guess who we came across? Christy!!!! My favorite mail carrier of all time. Why is she my favorite? She ALWAYS carries treats. Even Alice knows that she does! Oh how I miss my Christy! I’ll put her in my story, too, though I’m not sure what character she’ll play yet. Maybe the wise woman who feeds me magic food to give me supernatural strength!

Alice went home with her tongue hanging out as well –  yes, it was that warm today — and I hopped back in the car with one more walk on the books — Oshi and Perrito.

Now, choosing characters for them is super easy — they’ll be like munchkins or elves who cheer me on as I endure the trials and tribulations of my quest. Oshi will be a kind of curmudgeon like elf …

…and Perrito will be a happy-go-lucky munchkin who sings at the drop of a hat and quietly worships me…

Whew…what a day, but I think I have a good idea about my myth. Now I just have to find the time to work on it! But not tonight. Tonight I need some rest and prepare myself for tomorrow’s predicted rain. It will be a welcome relief!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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