We had Penny for an extended period of time recently. One day as I sat in my office; she and Elsa had a quiet playtime before it got crazy. These photos are from that fleeting quiet time. Enjoy and have a great week.
Its a juggling act
Digging into the office toy basket.
A much deserved quiet moment for the man.
Walking through the house, I survey the path of destruction. Yep, Penny is at our house for a visit and when that happens there is a constant tornado to pick up after and avoid. It is not just Penny, on her own she is much like a speeding bowling ball but with Elsa in pursuit, you have your full fledged tornado.
Yesterday afternoon as I sat on my computer writing, I heard it; I am always listening. In a few moments it was over and I went to check on the girls. Rugs were crumpled, dog beds lay in the middle of the room, couch cushions everywhere and two girls sitting quietly panting, watching me.
For much of the day they simply coexist; napping here and there, each taking there turn wandering and watching out the office window. But when it's on, it's on. This is where the juggling and utmost of care needs to be taken, for Luke. Luke had a bad fall last week and since then he is even more frail than before. He can tumble on all his own so I have to make sure the tornado does not hit him.
Chill'n as a pack.
My day begins peaceful and quiet. As I sit here now in bed blogging; Elsa is snuggled up close and Luke is in his bed sound asleep. Penny in her crate in my office; she cannot sleep in the same room with Luke. First I need coffee, I get up and grab my coffee and breakfast; heading back upstairs to blog. Next I will get Elsa and Penny up and out for their morning pee. After that it is Luke's turn; I help him to his feet, give those old back legs a massage and assist him down the stairs. I am on constant guard should the girls want to give him a morning greeting. Out for his pee I remain on guard. Then it is back upstairs for a morning snack.
If I am heading to the gym in the morning; Luke and Elsa will stay in my bedroom while Penny is gated in the kitchen. When I return, Luke and Elsa are let out first, then Penny. We all enjoy the outdoors until breakfast. Penny eats separately as I cannot get Luke to eat with her distraction. We then move onto the rest of the day. There are naps to be had, meandering, bone chewing and walks; while I constantly juggle.
In the afternoon while I work on the computer; Luke sleeps in my office. He is safest there and if the girls join us then I am on watch duty. It is nice when everyone naps at the same time; this is my most productive time of the day. When they are awake and in play mode I must be on high alert. Penny is very good with Luke now; she manages to control her adoration for him and keeps it in check. A simple "leave him" usually does the trick.
As the afternoon turns into evening the activity level rises. We all sit outside and enjoy the setting sun. There is a little play, but mostly we just enjoy each other. Dinner preparation is again a juggle; but we have a great routine in place. After and more chill'n in the yard we head down for Luke's favorite part of the day, tv time. Then it is game on. I try to watch tv but who needs tv when you have Penny and Elsa around? It is like watching WWF and NFL wrapped in one display of craziness. Ahhhhh, love it.
May 20 2014 - ENJOY!
Wordless Wednesday
The calm before the storm. Elsa has no idea that Penny will arrive momentarily.
Luke is not happy about the turn of events.
If she can just NOT do the Bulldozer routine.
Well hello.
It's all about the acquisition of the toy.
Tugging is great fun.
Placing on your opponents head is good too.
Wow, big girl teeth.
"What Grandma?" "I'm not bothering Luke.""
Hahahahahaha, Penny's Mom trying to work out with Miss Inquisitive.
The Gang, Wordless (sort of) Wednesday.
Letting Elsa do all of the work, a common occurrence.
What a face.
Just hanging on.
Nothing is more fun than playing with your BFF.
Leverage.
A good shot for size comparison.
Gusto.
Reckless abandon.
Watching the craziness.
Like I said, crazy.
Heart.
Love of retrieving.
This was so cute, Luke came out to find me and this is the moment that he spotted me sitting on the ground. Shooting the girls.
So happy to have found me. :)
Sun kissed.
The fun continues today; I can hear the girls at it downstairs.
Words vs. body language
"I told her no" he said walking away with his dog continually jumping on him. "But, that is not what you said with your face or body," I told him. "She only sees action right now, she is not listening to your words," I explained as I have done so many times before. Our dogs watch us far more than they listen to us. Just the other day I was outside with Luke and Elsa when Miss Elsa lifted her leg and almost peed on Luke. Yep, she is a marker and on this day she could not wait for him to finish before marking over his pee. I yelled as she lifted her leg which stopped her short of hitting him on the leg. I was postured adding to the disapproval in my voice which had great effect. She very quickly ran over and sat in front of me with just the very tip of her tail wagging from under her rear end. She understood very clearly that it is not okay to pee on Luke. Honestly.
What you say and what you do are two completely separate things. You can say one thing but if you do not follow up with actions your words may be lost. Of course, this is with regards to feedback and not well trained verbal cues. It also depends on the individual dog, your relationship and training. If you want to be very clear you will make good use of your body as well as your voice when trying to get a message across to your dogs. You might say "stop, stop, stop, STOP," but it is not until you get up or stand tall that they listen. Young dogs are often the culprit of this "I can't hear you," scenario. They may be at the push stage and giving things a try. But add some body language in with your vocal feedback and you will then be speaking dog.
Using your body, facial expression and vocal or verbal are all options. You can use only body language on all it's own to deliver a message. Eye contact works well on it's own with a dog who is use to looking for it. But vocal or verbal does not always work on it's own. If you have a well trained dog who knows when you speak that you mean business then yes it will work wonderfully. But if you have a young dog or a dog who is never given feedback or expected to follow orders at all then you may have a difficult time.
Elsa is a body language dog, she is constantly watching and perfecting it. If she is mooching at the table for scraps, I simply have to freeze and look at her to send her flying away from the table. If I stare at her she gets very uncomfortable as she tries to figure out what she is doing wrong. For these type of dogs it does not take a lot to get a message across. Others may need more practice for their reading skills and some need new lessons altogether. Most dogs come to us with a clear understanding of body language; it is important to keep it up so that they don't lose it. It is also the easiest way to communicate with them.
Watching a fine tuned canine/human team work together is amazing. That doesn't mean that they have to be doing agility, flyball or other sport. It can be simply how they interact on a day to day basis. Anyone can have it, with just a bit of work. But that work will pay off tenfold.
Hello 2014
Well, a Happy New Year to everyone. Over the holidays we took Elsa down to visit Penny and Nicole again. We took another trip to Fiesta Island. Here are some of the pics, continuation of photos on tomorrows blog.
More tomorrow. :)
So glad to see Elsa enjoying the water.
Penny loved chasing Elsa, chasing the ball.
Inseparable.
A beautiful doberman who wandered by very shortly.
Penny wasn't too sure if she wanted to meet this guy.
Penny followed a dog way up the hill. Watching us from up above.
Elsa went in up to the point of having to swim, that is the next step.
Dad throwing the ball in the water again and again and again.
Penny loves to run with her Mom.
This little guy was determined to catch Penny, hilarious.
Elsa's ball was too far for her to get so Penny went in to get it. Then a Golden joined them.
More tomorrow. :)
A day at the beach
Scanning the beach, where to first? Elsa and I drove down to San Diego yesterday so that we could beach it with my daughter Nicole and Penny. We went to Fiesta Island where there is tons of room to run. The whole island is designated "off leash" fun for dogs and at this time of year, there are no crowds to battle with. Enjoy, I sure did.
Elsa chased the ball; Penny chased Elsa, chasing the ball.
They ran and ran and ran some more.
Penny was having a ton of fun.
Elsa retrieved her ball and everyone else's; work to do on ball stealing.
The floating retrieve.
On this retrieve, Penny stopped halfway and waited for Elsa to return. So much running.
Love this.
Penny is truly amazing with other dogs. She just loves everyone.
Just having fun.
Super, flying Bull Terrier.
Ahhhh, a water retrieve; so great to see Elsa in the water again.
Wading through the seaweed; Penny loves the stuff.
I cannot believe how high she was.
Penny wants to know everything that Elsa is doing.
Dog pile.
After we got back to Nicole's house; the girls were not done with their fun. They continued to brawl until the moment that Elsa and I left. Penny and Elsa are the best of friends and it is such a joy to watch them loving their together time.
Penny's sleep over
Penny is staying at our house for a week; never a dull moment. The day starts off with some teeth cleaning.
My handsome man, watching the girls.
He decides to join in for a short romp.
Elsa is so smart; she starts cleaning Penny's face and then nabs the toy when she lets go.
Always a watchful eye.
Taken just this morning. Penny crawled ever so slowly into bed with Luke and he didn't even growl. Progress.
Fall weekend
The weather finally broke giving us a great first day of fall. Penny was over for the weekend so, here you go. Let the games begin.
Sunday morning Luke lays on the couch with Penny's Mom as the girls carry on.
Both Penny and Elsa love the keep away games.
Pursuit of the bone.
The agenda is...just fun.
Both chewing the bone.
A tennis ball is entirely different, Penny is only slightly interest. Elsa on the other hand is a ball fiend. Penny didn't have it for long.
Luke wants no part of the crazy games.
Happy ball girl.
What a face.
Sometimes doing nothing is just beautiful.
Saturday evening the bubbles came out. Elsa was hooked on the game very quickly. Penny? She ran from the bubbles.
A fraction of a second before the bubble was burst.
Post burst.
A great Sunday morning.
Have a great week.
Wordless Wednesday, well sort of.
Much too hot so the games moved indoors. Things did not slow down.
Bull Terrier tasting.
This goes on and on and on and on.
Fun and games, lots of teeth.
A little elbow chomping.
Sharing or trying not to share is the most fun.
Love Elsa's expression in this one, "so short one, you want the bone?"
Girls.
Playing in the blankets is fun.
Checking out tired Elsa.
I don't think that Penny can believe that Elsa is napping.
Hmmmmm, the realization face. Now what is she going to do?
Yay, Grandpa's not napping.
Maybe Luke wants to play. Nope.
Just chill'n.
She gives in to nap time.