Waiting for Spring.....Sigh....

No matter how many times I bounce around and look hopefully at the door and at my leash, I simply cannot get my people to take me on a walk when it's cold outside. A few days ago, it was sunny and pretty warm, so my partner and I did take a short walk, and I got to say hello to my neighbor Macy (a Saint Bernard) and this old beagle who always runs down his driveway to bark at me. I would think that a dog as old and as fat and as short as he is, would think twice about challenging me, but he does. I don't know why I'm not allowed just to pounce on him and put him in his place, but my partner won't let me. Hmphh! Macy and I always sniff noses and then we bounce and woof a little, but it's all just bluster. We both like to pretend we're tough dogs. Oh, I do hope Spring comes soon. The robins are already here. Spring can't be too far away. I can't wait!

Winning Friends

Now, I'm no expert, but I saw this suggestion on what must have been one of those self-help web sites, so I thought I'd post it. It just goes to show how important it is to give a gift that the other person will truly value!

"ASK GINNY"

Ginny invites you to write to her with your questions...... [Submit them as a comment on one of the "Ask Ginny" posts and Ginny will repost them in a new post segment.]

Q & A about health, veterinary

matters, training, and life

Q: Dear Ginny,

I have a dog who is generally well house-broken, but whenever my husband comes home and greets her, she pees right on the floor. I have scolded her, but it doesn't seem to make any difference. What can I do?

A: The reason it doesn't help to scold her is that you are not dealing with a house-training problem. What your dog is doing is called "submissive urination." In the language of the dog pack (which all dogs feel a part of), the lowest dog(s) of the dominance hierarchy shows certain body language to indicate respect and submission to a dominant dog in the pack. This includes putting the ears back, lowering the head, averting the eyes, presenting the groin region, and urinating slightly. Because submissive urination is a way to showing respect to the "top dog," any reinforcement of dominance will just encourage submissive displays, such as urination. Scolding just reinforces dominance, so will induce even more submissive urination. In a dog's mind, dogs don't become members of our family; we become members of their pack. Therefore, we must understand dog language, which is primarily a language of the body. Greeting times in the dog pack, such as when your husband comes home from work, are times when the hierarchy is reinforced. The most effective thing you and your husband can do is to be very low-key when he gets home. Even though it's difficult, he should ignore your dog altogether until the excitement is past. He should avoid direct eye contact and avoid bending toward her. Both these gestures are dominant gestures in dog body language. If you and he are reluctant to give up an excited greeting, then just put down a mat at the front door, which you don't mind getting urine on. However, be sure to pick it up after the greeting is over, since you don't want to confuse the dog and have her go back to that spot and think it's all right to pee on it again.

"When Hedgehogs Fly"-Daydreams-Part 3

I suppose it's a good thing that I have such a vivid imagination, because I do like being able to continue daydreams at will.
------------------------------------------------
They were going up and up for what seem like forever. Piggy still had his eyes closed, but when he sensed Harmon slowing down, he opened one eye just a crack and saw that they were approaching a big, flat field near the top of a mountain. With a sickening swoop, Harmon deposited him surprisingly gently onto soft grass. Piggy unrolled himself and stretched out all four legs and every quill. He went to join his two companions, who were also stretching out after the long flight. The captain of their unit stepped onto a nearby log and cleared his throat. "The purpose of today's exercise is to learn the basics of rolling. Hedgehogs are unique in this ability, but rolling with precision takes practice. Hedgehog armaments are non-lethal weapons, used primarily as distractors, to disrupt enemy ranks. The roll is maximally effective if your quills are pointed backward during the rolling phase and, at the last minute, as you give your body a quick twist, you point your quills forward for the moment of impact. At this speed and rotation, quills won't embed in the enemy, but they will inflict a nasty enough scratch that the troops toward which you are rolling will do everything they can to avoid you. Today, each team will learn just the Release-And-Roll. This field is perfect, since the grass is short and there are very few bumps and rocks. Hogs, approach your partner and turn so you are facing away. Roll up so your front legs are close enough to your partner's legs to grasp each one just above the talons. You hold on only long enough for him to get airborne. He can hold onto your wrists with a grip that is much more secure than you would be able to maintain by yourself. Hawks, you will fly toward that large pine tree at the north end of the field; then circle around and fly back toward this spot. Make your release about three inches from the ground, opposite this log. Hogs, to avoid injury, maintain your roll-up until you have come to a complete stop. I will go first, with my partner Willy, so you can watch. Then I want you to try it. Here we go.........

---------------------------------------------
I came out of my reverie by hearing the mail car stop in front of the mail box. I was curious to know more about these "hedgehog bombs," but it was going to have to wait.

Photo from: www.peteducation.com

Virginia visits Virginia

It does seem like a good thing to be visiting the state after which I was named. My humans and I arrived in Staunton, VA, last night, after a rather boring trip, during which I spent the entire time in my travel crate. We did stop and walk around a few times, but, all in all, it was quite dull. We are here to visit my main human's mother, who is 89 years old. I have to be careful around her, because I don't want to knock her over. She is not very big. We went for a walk this afternoon and I got to do one of my favorite things, which is to show my human how to get back home. We walked about 10 blocks and made at least 5 different turns. I'm sure that this human cannot smell well enough to have found the way back. Anyway, at the end of the walk, I was told, "Let's go home," and I went into work-mode. These tasks are so easy that a puppy could do them, but my humans need me, so I pretend that it is difficult, just so they don't feel inadequate. All I have to do is to put my nose up and sniff the breeze and it's a piece of cake. It's a little harder if the wind is at our backs, but that doesn't mean I can't do it. I just have to be more careful and check a few scent pockets around bushes and walls. Anyway, we were home in no time. My human always acts so proud of me when I do this. It's worth it to pretend that I have to work at it!

HERE ARE SOME
PICTURES OF DOGS
USING THEIR NOSE TO
SHOW HUMANS WHERE

SOMETHING IS.

Photo credits:

Left = from westjerseyk9.org;

Right = southjordancity.org/publicsafety