Category Archives: Playa

May 11, 2010

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Shhhhhhh!

I’m doing my best to ignore my cable modem. I’m doing my best not to notice that the internet is working. I fear that if I notice, it will stop working and after a week of it not working, I’d hate to see that happen. For the past three hours, I’ve been focused on catching up on all the blogs. I’ve kept my eyes off the modem and every time I push the PUBLISH key, I hold my breath to see if all the data gets transferred. So far, so good.

Now I’m trying to get today’s blog done, but my eyes are weary and I feel like my luck with the internet just might run out. Therefore, I’m going to do this quick and dirty…well, not dirty, but definitely quick.

Rosie was first and she, like all the dogs (including me) LOVED the sun today. I mean, look at that smile as they played fetch the cookie in the park.

Next was Zoe who refused to play along with the photographing today. She was easily distracted. Very easily, but still the sky was blue and we were happy in the warmth of the sun. More sun means eventually we can go in the lake for a romp! I look forward to the day when we can splash together!

Then Gemma, who’s been on vacation and returned with gusto today. Saber was beside himself with joy and promptly threw himself on the ground to get his dose of lovin’ from Ms. Gemma. But she wasn’t exclusive. I got some as well.

Good to have her back in town!

Then I got to rest while Gretchen walked Playa and Ollie. No Doodles today and now they’ll be no more Playa. A temporary gig, Ollie will be moving into his own house and Playa and Doodles will be constant companions to their mom. Gretchen will miss them, but that’s nature of the business! Still, they too had fun in the sun!

We’re almost to the end…will we make it? Will it publish?

Cross your paws!

Rubin

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May 4, 2010

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Memorization

We headed out early this morning for a walk up to our work at school. All along the way, Gretchen is saying words like transverse, dorsal, median, sagittal. I looked at her, stumped.

“What’s with the foreign language?” I asked.

“I’m trying to remember all the body planes,” she responded as if I’d know what a body plane was.

“Uh, okay,” I mumbled back, slightly distracted by a bold squirrel crossing my path. And then she starts in with Occiput, Crest, Withers, Carpus, Metacarpus, Croup, Stifle and I’m totally lost.

“Did you get enough sleep?” I ask. And then she laughs.

“Sorry, Ruby (one of my many nicknames). I’m trying to remember all the regions of a dog’s body.”

Oh. Finally. I get it. She’s studying “Well, can I help?”

“You know that might not be a bad idea,” she says. “When we get home tonight, can I practice identifying your body parts?”

“Uh, sure,” I say, a bit embarrassed, “though that sounds a bit personal.”

And then we both giggle and continue on our walk.

Not a lot happened at school today. The students are on the last chapters of their long stories and were focused on the task at hand. We walked back home where I napped while Gretchen headed out to walk Rosie. Of course, I kept dreaming about words like manus, pes, thorax, occiput, flank…geez, this schooling thing is going to be hard on both of us!

Now Rosie is a study in post-surgical stiffness. She walks with a limp (though a bouncy one) and her back legs move sideways, not forward.

It doesn’t seem to stop her, though. She’s still very happy  and relatively pain free as she walks along and occasionally bursts into a little sprint. Every time Rosie sprints ahead, Gretchen laughs because Rosie is almost gleeful when she gets to go outside and check out the ever changing weather from the gardens on the hill.

Of course, she doesn’t much like her photo taken as she often sticks out her tongue when Gretchen makes the attempt. Wish I could do that!

I was curious about the weather myself so it was nice when Gretchen returned home to pick me up for our walk with Zoe. Normally, Zoe goes with our friend, Maureen (of Mo’s Dog Walking) to the dog park, but Zoe has also had knee surgery so for the past few weeks, she’s been confined to leashed-walks. Well yesterday, Zoe got to go out with Maureen and on our walk, we talked about how much fun Zoe had at the dog park, seeing her pack friends again, and hanging out with Maureen.

“It was a blast!” Zoe exclaimed.

“I bet it was good to see your friends again,” I said.

“Oh, Rubin. You’ll never guess. There were three of us Bernese dogs and you know, we’re so very sweet, I think Maureen had the best Monday ever!”

“How does your knee feel today?” I asked.

“It’s a bit stiff, but not bad,” Zoe told me. “But I sure don’t have the same kind of stamina as I did before the surgery.”

“Don’t worry,” I told her, “You’ll get back into shape. Maybe we should play a little so you can build up your endurance.”

“Oh good idea! you start,” she said and I did! I think I overwhelmed her at first, but if we had been let off leash, we would have whooped it up but good!

Next was Saber. I was feeling might frisky by then and all those anatomy words flew right out of my head. Saber was in a frisky mood too and while he is in perfect health right now, anatomically speaking, we have to be careful not to overstress his still developing body.

Too bad he doesn’t understand that my body shouldn’t be overstressed! This next photo is kind of blurry, but do you see how he pushes me around? Ridiculous!

We went for a walk after getting out our ya-yas and then Gretchen posed us by a beautiful Rhododendron. Meanwhile, the clouds were gathering again and I had the feeling it was going to rain. Boy did it, but luckily Saber made it home before it did and I made it home as well.

But by the time Gretchen drove to Ollie, Playa, and Doodle’s house, the rain had stopped, though she didn’t believe it would stop for long so Playa and Doodles wore their raincoats. Mine was in the car for Ollie, but it turns out they didn’t really need them. No rain until the last few minutes of the walk.

Yes, Doodles went along for the walk, which is not a common occurrence. He gets kind of scared, but he finds comfort and solace in his great protector — Playa. No matter where they go, Doodles keeps Playa close by, which is sometimes hard to do because Playa likes to be at the very, very end of the leash exploring the world. She’s definitely part Husky!

Ollie, Playa, and Doodles are all in pretty good anatomical shape, but Gretchen tells me she practiced identifying body parts on them anyway. Ollie thought that was great because it meant he got petted.

Doodles was skeptical…

…and Playa, well, Playa is just interested in going somewhere so she whined a bit while Gretchen labeled her body– abdomen, loin, flank!

I suppose it’s important for Gretchen to study and I know I should do what I can to help her out, but sometimes I just want to play, you know because as they say, “All work and no work makes Rubin a dull boy!”

Until Tomorrow,

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 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 13, 2010

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Forgetful

Gretchen and I are having a debate. She says dogs are forgetful like humans and I say we are not. Yes, I agree that humans are forgetful. Sometimes Gretchen forgets her keys, sometimes she forgets to take out the garbage, and every once in awhile, she forgets that I need feeding.

She’s not a very forgetful person, but on occasion she can forget simple things and no matter how much I try to remind her, things just slip her mind.

Dogs do not forget. It’s simply impossible for us to forget. Here is my evidence:

The other day, when I had to go to the vet to get my vaccination, I walked behind Gretchen (I really don’t like going to the vet) through the front door. Well, the door closes quicker than most doors and I got caught in it. I yelped, Gretchen yelped (and apologized) and I was rescued. I saw the vet, I received my vaccination as well as got weighed AND have my temperature taken (yikes!) and then Gretchen paid before we left. We walked to the door. I refused to move forward. Gretchen remembered: “Oh the door! It’s okay, Rubin. I’ll make certain it doesn’t close on you.”

I did not forget about the quick closing door. Gretchen did.

Rosie, Gretchen’s first walk of the day, never forgets anything. This is probably why she is a bit skittish because she knows the sound of every truck means the ground will rumble, she knows the silhouette of a cat, and she knows that Gretchen’s left pocket contains treats.

The more Rosie gets to know Gretchen, the more she remembers all the commands Gretchen’s taught her. Lately, she’s been working on the “wait” or “stay” command so that Gretchen can step back and get photos of Rosie whether she’s standing above the park or in front of the beautiful spring flowers.

Rosie does not forget that she is always rewarded for sitting and staying.

When I was a puppy, a large dog at the off-leash park chased me so ferociously, I got scared. To this day I have not forgotten and when I see a big dog — especially one I do not know or who has black fur — I get very nervous. Well today, Gretchen informed me that I would be meeting Zoe — a large dog with black fur. “Rubin,” Gretchen said, “Don’t be afraid, okay? Zoe is as sweet as pie.”

But sometimes, because I always remember, it’s hard to forget. So when I first met Zoe I was scared. I whined and barked nervously. Zoe got excited and barked as well, but she wasn’t nervous. She just wanted to meet me and smell me. I’m not big on the smelling part. Well, not at first. I like to walk with a new dog first before I allow them to smell me, but Zoe is big and strong and yes, very kind and sweet, and she really wanted to smell me so I had to growl at her a bit.

Someone must have growled at Zoe before because she backed off and that made me like her instantly. I liked her all the more as we walked through her neighborhood and down to the big park where we sat obediently for photos.

For the first part of the journey, we walked on opposite sides of Gretchen, but on the way back from the park, we walked side by side.

See? I might not be able to forget about being attacked by a big black dog, but I at least remember that Zoe was not that dog.

And a new friend is something ALWAYS to remember.

Gemma never forgets the dog who lives on the corner, across from her house or the dog who lives on the other corner who barks from inside the house. Gemma never forgets about Tess the loud German Shepard who barks at us from behind the fence (and Gemma always barks back) and she never, ever forgets the route to Saber’s house.

Saber never forgets a routine. When Gretchen lets him out of his crate, he obediently sits by the door and waits for his collar and leash to get put on. He hates the nose collar he must wear (to keep him from pulling), but he never forgets to be a good boy and let Gretchen put it on him.

And neither of them forget the fun they have at the tennis courts.

I don’t either!

Playa has learned the sound of Gretchen’s car. Since she waits outside on nice days, when she hears Gretchen’s car pull up, she smiles big and wide. When Ollie knows Gretchen’s coming in the door, he bounces up like only Ollie can do. Neither of them can forget Gretchen and what she represents.

Of course, Doodles would like to forget all about going on a walk with Gretchen, but he can’t. He’s still pretty nervous (even though he wags his tail) about getting leashed up for a walk so today, he didn’t go with Ollie and Playa. Maybe he does forget how much fun he has on the walk?

Wait, I’m trying to prove that dogs don’t forget so I’m not going to explore that idea.

Ollie is another dog who doesn’t forget about the treats in Gretchen’s pocket and until today, Playa hasn’t shown the least bit interest in a treat.

Today, though, she was very interested and practiced sitting and waiting to earn said treats.

She also never forgets to pee. According to Gretchen, Playa pees a river every time they go on a walk. I tried to explain to Gretchen that it’s imperative for dogs to never forget to pee!

Now, I could list all the ways humans forget, but when Gretchen brought home this photo, I asked her what it was. “It’s a pea patch made under the power lines.”

“Why did you take a photo of it?” I asked.

“I just thought it was cool that people are using the land this way.”

Oh, I thought, that’s another thing people forget — they forget about the land and how important it is. They forget about the animals and how important they are. They forget about the water and how important it is. They forget about the beauty of nature.

Okay, not all the time, but we’re surprised by how many people forget that there are other things in life besides people. Gretchen says that’s one of the reasons she wants me to write this blog — to remind all the forgetful people that we exist.

You may ask yourself, “Hey, I thought you said dogs live in the now? How can they live in the now and never forget?

That’s a great question, but I’m going to end the blog for today and get back to that question perhaps tomorrow.

Unless I forget (tee hee!)

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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April 6, 2010

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Pedestrians

I dream of world where people can walk freely, where cars stop whenever someone approaches a crosswalk. I dream of a world where dogs don’t have to look both ways and where people drive at reasonable speeds. I dream of a time when bicycles and pedestrians have the right away and cars have to watch out for danger.

No, nothing bad happened today, but man oh man, are we tired of speeding cars, red-light running autos, and people driving while talking and texting on their cell phones. Every venture across the street requires the utmost diligence and caution.

But I shall not dwell on the negative. Today was a great day because 1) it didn’t rain and 2) we made it home (and all our clients did as well) safely.

First up was Rosie. Rosie is very wary of loud cars and trucks so she’s cautious by nature. (I dream of a day when Rosie can walk without loud sounds following her footsteps or making her jump and spin in fright!). They went for their walk down through the park, around by the school, and then stopped by the sculpture for some photos and some practice on sit, stay, and down. Notice how tentatively held that down is!

Next up was Gemma who was spinning and twirling and raring to go. She came by to pick me up and together we headed over to Saber’s house. Let the love fest begin! (I dream of a time when lovebirds can romp freely in the open field without fear of racing out into oncoming traffic that hasn’t a clue that dogs are playing!)

I tried to get into the act, but those two never stand still long enough to even notice me. Well, sometimes Saber does and occasionally Gemma, and even more occasionally they both stop to catch their breath, but let me tell you, for the 15 minutes on the court (before our walk) it’s full throttle puppy play!

Everyone went home tired and ready to rest including me. Gretchen was glad because she had to head south to pick up Ollie and Playa? Where’s Doodles you ask? Well, apparently no human was at home so up the stairs he ran and hid under the bed. No walk for Doodles! But Playa and Ollie were more than willing to jump in the car and head to the tennis courts for some fetch! (I dream of a time when Doodles realizes that walks are fun especially since where they walk there are no cars, though yes, they must take a car to get there.)

And then up on the ridge for a walk in the ever-present wind.

Now those are some happy smiles! Gretchen came back and got me, though I’m not sure why since I had to hang out in the car while she met with her physical therapist. As Gretchen says, her body is an older model and therefore always needs a little tinkering and tuning up to keep her running well. And run we did after she was done with her appointment for we had to pick up Gemma again for a short evening romp and walk. We didn’t take photos because the light was all wrong and frankly, Gemma and I just wanted to play.

Yes, I’m tired, but I’m happy for the day of work/play and very happy that we made it home safely. Please, if you drive a car, watch out for us (as in “us” for real and “US” the universal pedestrians!)

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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March 30, 2010

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Insecurities

I like to consider myself a tough dog. Not much scares me, though some would say I’m jumpy. Perhaps, but mostly I think I’m pretty tough. Or as Gretchen likes to say, gnarly. I’ve heard her use that word a lot lately mostly in reference to her incision, which is soon to be a scar…a gnarly scar. She’s threatening to get an even gnarlier tattoo on top of the scar, but I think she’s bluffing. She’s not really the tattoo kind of woman.

I, on the other hand, would get a tattoo in a second, but unfortunately, it’s not going to happen. Too much hair.

But I digress. The real reason I’m telling you all of this is because last night, while I was practicing my tough look in the mirror, my biggest insecurity flared. Or perhaps I should say “bolted” and I was instantly in a puddle of quivering uncertainty.

Gretchen calls it thunder and lightning and while I don’t generally see the lightning, I most certainly hear and feel the thunder. Last night this thunder was right over our house. It even made the TV flicker and the computer screen get momentarily wobbly. It was at that point Gretchen turned off and unplugged everything. Later, when the storm had passed, she plugged it all back in and turned it all back on.

“Rubin,” she called to me, “It’s time to finish your blog.”

Unfortunately, I was in hiding, wedged securely between the ottoman and the couch lovingly covered up with a blanket by Ann. She gets me. She understands that sometimes even the toughest dogs have some hidden insecurities.

Lightning and thunder are mine. They’re apparently Argo’s too, though he tended to bark at the ceiling with every bolt and shudder.

So today, when we woke to a bit of rain, I asked, “Will there be more of those nasty storms today?”

“Not sure, buddy,” Gretchen told me. “They say there might be some this afternoon.”

“Well, let’s get this gig started so I can be home in the safety of my hidden spot when they come!”

It’s now late in the afternoon, almost evening, and no sign of noisy storms as of yet. Good thing. I’m not sure I can take two days in a row with all that noise and commotion.

Rosie feels the same way. I had Gretchen ask her what she feels about those storms and Rosie refused to even answer the question. She just looked Gretchen square in the eye as if to say, “Are more coming? If so, get me home quick, quick, quick!”

While the storms were no where to be seen in the sky, the air was mighty chilly, so chilly Gretchen made Rosie wear her coat. She may not look happy about it, but after the walk, she thanked Gretchen enormously for the extra warmth and the thunder-free walk!

Next up was Gemma and while I’m not certain, I don’t think Gemma has many insecurities. Certainly not thunder and lightning. She’s really tough and while I’d never want her to know how tough I think she is, I’ll tell you that I think she’s the toughest and gnarliest dog I know!

Gemma and I got to play at the tennis courts today, but instead of our usual romp photos, Gretchen tried to capture that unique nose and ear combination of the tough girl. Oh, and let’s not forget the drool. Hey, I didn’t know tough dogs drooled!

Gemma also got to come over to our house to meet Argo. We didn’t get any photos of the meeting (too bad) but it was pretty fun to watch Argo chase Gemma around the yard while Gemma chased me.

After Gemma went home, Gretchen and I picked up Saber and we, too, headed to the courts where Saber instantly stole my favorite ball and taunted me with it!

Man, he LOVES to play keep away (hence the attached red leash) and he’s mighty quick about it, too. The second I get close enough to steal the ball back, he’s off and running!

As for toughness, Saber is a lot of things — goofy, loving, big — but I’m not sure tough or gnarly are words I can attach to him. Gretchen calls him a mush ball elephant and while he used to show the fear of open umbrellas in his early years, I’m not sure thunder and lightning would elicit the same response now. Instead, I bet he just looks up at the sky and says, “Uh? Is that music?”

Saber has a habit of ramming into me with his large, Lab head. For as large as he is, he actually moves really well. I think of him as a bulldozer able to scoop up the ball in one swift move or in some instances, leap right up in front of the camera to snatch the ball high out of the air.

We played hard, which was Gretchen’s ulterior motive because once we were done, I got to rest at home with Argo while Gretchen and Ann headed south to walk with Ollie, Playa, and Doodles. Now, it’s pretty clear to me (even though I don’t know Playa or Doodles) that the two of them would have completely different reactions to thunderstorms.

Playa would see it as a signal to go outside and sniff the air. A husky-mix, Gretchen says that huskies want nothing more than to be outside in any kind of weather. They’re all about being on the move and while Playa can’t get out of her yard, when she’s on the walk, she wants to just keep going and going and going! All you could see would be her beautiful tail waving goodbye!

Doodles, on the other hand, would find the deepest, darkest hole he could and tuck himself in for days and days and days. No matter how much reassurance he got, no matter how many treats they used to coax him out, he’d be too afraid those loud booms and spine-tingling cracks would come again. I completely understand!

Ollie would bark. Plain and simple… woof, woof, woof! He barks at everything he’s not certain about, which is hard to imagine since he’s such a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky kind of guy.

As you can see, Gretchen’s feeling better these days since Ann only had to help out with the last walk of the day. Everyone was very appreciative…especially Gretchen…but even Doodles, who is spooked by everything, seemed to enjoy meeting the new girl.

When they finally got home, Argo and I greeted them with typical enthusiasm. Well, my was typical. Argo grabbed a shoe and brought it to them. Where did he learn that?

He’s certainly making himself at home. First he’s learned to drink water from my dish and then, when we were let out in the backyard, Argo got really affectionate! Wait just one minute little fellow!

Tomorrow Gretchen thinks she can go it alone…no more need for Ann to help out unless she wants to. Well of course, I’ll be there to lend a paw……unless it storms again!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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March 23, 2010

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Milking It

The good thing about having an injury (sliced my paw yesterday) is that everyone has sympathy for me. I never realized how good sympathy can feel, but today when Gretchen strapped on my one black boot and forced me to walk to school with her, I did my best to showcase how humiliated and feeble I am (not really). Boy, did that ever work. All the students saw my black bootie, my bowed head, my sad ears and melancholy eyes and they fell all over themselves saying, “Poor Rubin! Does it hurt? Let me give you some love.”

And love I got. Buckets full.

Gretchen says I’m milking it, exaggerating my wound for scratches behind my ears, rubs on my belly, and extra special treats hidden in the students’ pockets (they sneak them to me all the time!), but I beg to differ. My foot hurts. Even the vet said that a slice like mine feels like a big, fat blister in a tight pair of boots during a long hike. So there!

But yes, I do like the attention so maybe there’s a little play acting on my part.

Maybe.

But I have to be careful because if I overdo it too much (the acting, that is) I’m left at home to “rest and recover” and frankly, I’d rather walk with the blister in my boot than spend the day at home alone.

I did rest and recover after we got back from school. Gretchen had to walk Rosie and that’s usually done without me. Someday we’ll walk together, but not today. Rosie knows how it feels to be injured. She hurt her back last week and had to take slow as well, but today she was feeling pretty good and the two of them (Gretchen and Rosie) practiced their commands in the sun.

First there was sit and stay as you can see above…Nice work, Rosie!

And then down and stay…

Again, well done especially since Rosie had to hold it long enough for Gretchen to take some close ups of her favorite Rosie features — feet and muzzle. Silly girls.

Rosie enjoyed the sun today, but not necessarily the warmth. She got warm quickly and so they walked back slowly to Rosie’s house where she was left to rest and recover.

Then it was off to Gemma’s house the girl who does anything but rest and recover and today was no different…she was raring to go! Of course, she immediately asked about me and so Gretchen decided it was okay for her to come see me. While I was glad to see her, I wasn’t much in the mood for playing, but Gemma has a way of enticing (aka – nagging) me until I give in! First, she grabs all my toys and taunts me with them…

…then she butts into me pushing me all around the yard…

…and then she grabs my favorite tug toy and tosses it in my face! What can a guy do? I had to play …

And I’m glad she got me excited about playing…it felt good to rumble with her for a bit before we headed out on another walk (which involved wearing the dreaded boot again!).

I walked (slightly limped) Gemma through the park and then home where her papa gave me some needed and well earned sympathy and then Gretchen and I headed off to Saber’s house.

Saber was also raring to go and when he saw that Gretchen brought along the long line and that I was wearing a boot he asked, “What gives, Rubin?”

“Don’t worry,” Gretchen told him, “We’re going to try to play some fetch with my wounded friend here and this really long leash so you can practice your recall commands.”

“Oh boy oh boy oh boy,” Saber bounced and off we went to the little field for some fetch.

Okay, so yes, my foot hurts but the dreaded boot really does help. I mean, I just sliced the pad of my paw and as long as the ground isn’t rough and my foot is protected, I’m good for playing fetch!

But it was warm today and both Saber and I tired out pretty quickly, so we headed out on our walk, which ended up back at our house whereupon I was ordered to rest and recover yet again. Gretchen walked Saber home and then headed south to visit Ollie, Playa, and Doodles.

Doodles is a nervous dog and though they had planned not to walk him today, the plan changed when they got there — Doodles was kind of interested in the idea of a walk. Playa certainly was — she jumped into the car the second the door opened and Ollie? He’s always ready for just about any old adventure!

So off they went, first to the tennis courts for some fetch…

…and posing…

…and where Gretchen worked on getting the nervous Doodles to allow some scratches on his chest…

Of course, Ollie was curious so he got close, too!

And finally, everyone wanted to get in the shot…

…then up to the Chief Sealth trail where the dogs put their noses to the wind and took in the glorious scent of spring!

According to Gretchen, the day was a success as far as Doodles was concerned. Not only did she get to pet him, he actually let her pick him up and carry him through the rough patch on the trail. Way to go, Doodles!

While I was hoping for some more activity this afternoon, I was forced to rest up some more and even though I felt pretty good, the only action I got tonight was some cuddling. I’m not complaining…cuddling is pretty nice…but I sure hope I heal up so I can really go out and play hard soon!

Until then, I’m going to keep milking it…don’t let Gretchen know!

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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March 16, 2010

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Holding Memory

I asked myself today, “Where do I hold my memories?” I’m not sure why such a thought entered my mind, but it did and for most of the day, I kept trying to figure out where the memories of today were going.

As a dog, I think some of them go into my muscles. Gretchen says this is called “muscle memory” –  a type of movement with which the muscles become familiar over time. For instance, she said,  babies aren’t born knowing how to walk or even crawl (human or canine), but the more they practice, the more they build memory of taking steps, they build pathways in their brains so that, when they grow up, they automatically know how to walk.

But I also think some of my memories go deeper inside of me and while I’d like to think it’s my brain, that doesn’t feel quite right.

Take Rosie, for instance. She was the first walk of the day and recently she’s been struggling with back pain. No one knows for sure what it is, but she’s on medication and a limited regiment of exercise. Though she wanted to walk faster and for a much longer time, Gretchen controlled the speed of their walk as well as the length much to Rosie’s disappointment. But I think Rosie is an interesting example of where memory is held. She had a horrible childhood and until her current parents adopted her, she’d suffered awful injuries that have required numerous operations.

Her nervousness, her skittish nature hold the memory of this early damage, but psychically, she has a memory so deep it’s hard for her to unlearn it (if memories can be unlearned). Her current back issues are most likely a composite of those early traumas, her subsequent surgeries, and the memory of it all that I think she must store deep inside of her. Yes, it’s in her muscles, but it’s also part of her every fiber so that when she faces the world, she holds herself taut — cautious of the wind, the trees, and every shadow of the life.

I know when I’ve felt crummy, my whole body tightens and even when I start to feel better, I am sore from the memory of my illness. When I think of all that Rosie has been through, I can only imagine the memories she must hold. I’m so happy she has a loving and attentive family to help her work through all of her physical (and spiritual) issues, but if I could help hold some of her painful memories, I would. She deserves to live her life pain free — don’t you think?

Perhaps dogs, much like humans, each have a special place where their memories are stored. Gemma, I think, holds hers in her ears and her tail. Like antennae, they are always moving in response to outside stimuli. And if anyone is constantly aware of outside stimuli, it’s definitely Gemma. Nothing gets past her. Nothing. She walks through life on high alert and all that comes in through those attentive ears, goes straight to her tail or remains in her ears.

Or maybe her tongue. Hard to say.

Saber is too young yet to fully appreciate the concept of muscle memory. Yes, his muscle memory has developed over the first 10 months of his life, but still he sometimes has little control of all parts of his body. One foot moves south, the other north while his tail points east and his head spins and slobbers to the west. Sometimes, when we’re walking, he forgets how close he is to Gretchen and she’ll accidentally step on his foot or his tail. For Saber, this is as close to being murdered as he can imagine and he howls and whines and goes absolutely berserk! It almost sounds like someone is trying to skin him alive!

Gretchen will lean down and try to comfort him and once she does, he looks at her with those sad, sad eyes and asks, “What happened? What did I do wrong?” Gretchen has to reassure him that he did nothing wrong other than losing track of his body in space.

But because Saber is so young, he is selective about the memories he holds. For instance, he’ll walk too close to Gretchen getting under her feet at least once a week, forgetting that by doing so, he’s putting himself in harms unintentional way. But when we play at the tennis courts, which we got to do before our long walk today, he NEVER forgets which ball is my favorite and therefore, which ball he must try to steal from me.

Today, in fact, he was so upset that I was kind of taunting him with the ball (lying on my back), he barked at me in his deep, low, and rumbling voice and I leapt up startled by his big, bad voice!

Anyway, I think Saber’s bodyis trying to find a place to hold all his new memories, but for now, they rest in his skin…he has so much of it…and his slobber, which he enjoys wiping onto my body while we play!

I know Ollie stores his memories in his curls. Tight and coiled, each curl bounces with the history of his every sense. As for his relatives — Playa the chow/husky mix and Doodles the chihuahua mix — I have yet to meet them and therefore can only speculate where they hold their memories.

Gretchen thinks it’s definitely in Playa’s tongue — the black and pink tongue of her chow heritage. Gretchen says Playa uses her tongue to communicate lots of her memories — how to play fetch, how to express happiness, and how to tell us that she’d prefer a different kind of treat.

Doodles, on the other hand, holds memories, it appears, in her nervous system. “She’s not quite sure about me yet,” Gretchen told me today.

“Why not?” I asked.

“She’s a rescue dog and sometimes those dogs that have been rescued from not so nice situations are hesitant to trust new people.”

“Oh,” and then I thought that Doodles must hold those not so nice memories in her shivers and shakes.

I, on the other hand, hold my memories in my wiggle. When friends come over to visit or I see someone I know and love, my body wiggles uncontrollably. That’s the memories I’m trying to hold though they just spontaneously release themselves in joy.

The bad memories? I’m not sure I have any except when I’m forced to get my ears cleaned. That’s a memory I release by holding my head low and acting kind of grumpy, something I’m doing right now because Gretchen cleaned out my ears. Super yuck!

Anyway, I’m not really sure where memories live, but I do think it’s different for each of us. I’m going to do some more observational investigations and come back to this subject at a later date.

Hope I remember to do that! (Tee hee.)

Until tomorrow,

Rubin

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March 15, 2010

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Ides of March

Beware a dog who knows his history. Yes, I am such a dog reading historical tomes whenever I’m left home alone. I’m not allowed on the computer, though, without human supervision, but today Gretchen made an exception since I’ve grown interested in Roman history lately. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s all those shows Gretchen watches on PBS. I might look like I’m sleeping on my bed, but I’m actually listening intently to the history of humans.

What a fascinating species. Dog history is so much more simple, the rules and behaviors far more predictable, but not so with human history. One never knows what will happen next.

Take Julius Caesar. I don’t know if it’s technically right, but 2054 years ago, Jules, the Roman Emperor, was assassinated by like 60 guys in white robes.  First, wearing white when you’re about to stab someone seems a bit over dramatic, but I’m learning that theatrics are as much a part of human history as revenge. Next, he was murdered by some of his so-called allies and/or friends. Yes, even Brutus who Jules had reared like his own son (and with whose mother he as having an affair), stabbed the Emperor.

So much for loyalty.

And then there’s this whole Ides thingy — some soothsayer telling Caesar to “beware the Ides of March,” which feels like an understatement given that the Emperor was stabbed to death by his so-called friends dressed in their poor choice of white.

Dog history isn’t nearly as exciting, or dare I say, dim-witted as human history. Okay, so I’ll admit that was an uncharacteristically harsh judgment on my part, but when you read (and watch) as much history as I do, well you begin to wonder how the human species has survived all these years. It’s amazing they haven’t done themselves in what with wrong-headed wars, corrupt politics, ravaging diseases, and the inability to learn from their mistakes.

If dogs ruled the world things would be different. Or so I’d like to think, but I’m not sure we’re ever going to get the chance since we’re kind of dependent upon humans for our own survival.  I should be grateful since canine dependence on humans means that I have a job — a dog dog walker — and today was a perfect example of my dependence.

It started with Tyson. (Well, it actually started with my own individual walk with Gretchen who had the day off from teaching, which means I had the day off from teaching…a much needed break!) Usually, Gretchen walks both Tyson and his sister, Rosie, but unfortunately Rosie’s hurt her fragile back. Poor girl. She’s medicated and resting comfortably, but an ambitious walk in the sun with her brother was not on the docket today.

Instead, Gretchen got to walk Tyson alone, which is something she’s never done before. Tyson is very different than his sister — he’s much more serious– and, as you can see, has a very Roman appearance. How fitting given the day.

Tyson enjoyed his alone walk. Gretchen did, too, but she was sad that Rosie felt crummy today and gave her some extra loving when she returned Tyson back home. Rosie appreciated it and hopes to be back out tomorrow for a short, slow walk.

After dropping off Tyson, Gretchen picked up a rambunctious Gemma who, despite her crummy tummy last week, was in tip top Gemma shape today. She happily walked with Gretchen over to Oshi and Perrito’s house where the boys bounded out the door excited to see the unexpected sunshine and the red-headed Gemma. Their walk took them over to Judkins Park where they tried to abide by Gretchen’s photographic directives without much success.

Instead, they were more focused on the idea of racing around the big open field without their leashes on. Sorry kids — it’s not going to happen.

Gemma dropped off the boys and then came over to our house where we rolled around in the backyard and chased each other for a bit. No photos since Gretchen was eating a bit of lunch before we headed out again for our walk. Eventually, we ended up at Gemma’s house where she waved goodbye to us from her front window. (Hey Gretchen? Yes? You need to get a photo of that. Yes, yes I do. Thanks for the reminder. No problem. Just saying.)

We walked over to get Saber after our outing with Gemma and he was another pup raring to go! Surprisingly, the tennis courts were free (for a short while) and Saber and I got to play some fetch and keep away — two of Saber’s favorite games.

Then we went for a walk because those tennis players showed up. That was okay because the temperature was warm and frankly, Saber was wearing me out.

Our walk took us down by the lake and then up through the pea patch where Gretchen posed us by the daffodils under the bridge. Saber wasn’t as thrilled by the idea, but did his best (as did I) to do as he was told.

We walked up over the hill back to Saber’s house then and by the time he got in the door, he was ready for his afternoon nap. This unexpected warm weather can really take it out of you! I was happy, too, to be able to rest at my house while Gretchen went off to meet some new clients.

Playa…

…and Doodles…

…who are friends/relatives of Ollie, whose family is in transition between selling their house and hoping to buy a new one.

It was a short walk, but tomorrow, it will be longer so stay tuned for more stories and photos of Ollie and his extended family.

The afternoon was spent with me reading more about Roman History and Gretchen working on some new Italian food (we each have our own way of acknowledging this historical day!). I’ve heard hints that we might go out again, but I need to check with the soothsayer to find out for sure!

Until tomorrow!

Rubin

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